FORMER BLUES striker Francis Jeffers has warned his old club not to expect an easy ride at Accrington tonight.
Jeffers, 32, enjoyed a short-spell at the League Two side last season, scoring two goals in seven appearances.
He has since left the Lancashire side, but with Accrington kicking off their league campaign on August 3 he believes James Beattie’s men will be keen to prove their fitness levels against the Premier League visitors.
“The Accrington lads are good players and they’ll be up for it,” he said.
“They’ll be playing against lads they’ve never had a chance to play against before.
“It will be a good experience all round for the young boys who are there and they’ll be fired up.”
Everton have sold out their allocation of 1,600 tickets for the short trip to Lancashire and there will be a lively atmosphere for the Blues second pre-season friendly of the summer.
“On a football side, Accrington will be okay,” he added. “We finished the season really strongly. We went from being bottom of the league with two months to go to finishing fifth or sixth from the bottom, which was a massive, massive achievement.
“Hopefully the lads will carry that into next season. They have been back a couple of weeks longer than the Everton lads, so it will be a tough test.
“They’ve just got young, fit lads right throughout the team.
“Then there’s players like Nicky Hunt, who’s had a good career in the Premier League. Ian Dunbavin has been there for a long time in goal, he played for Liverpool as a young lad, and Laurence Wilson who was a young pro at Everton.
“I think Beatts (James Beattie) is trying to build a young side, an energetic side and they’ll be a tough test for Everton at this stage of their preparations.”
