Phil Jagielka has dismissed concerns that Everton's poor pre-season will affect their Premier League performances.
The England defender also insisted that despite playing a minimal role in the Toffees' preparation fixtures, he is feeling fit ahead of the new campaign.
Jagielka returned late to pre-season after the club granted him additional time off following the World Cup.
But with the new season now upon him, he says he has recovered from his summer exploits and is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
"I’ve gradually built up and we trained really well yesterday [Tuesday]," he told Everton TV.
Phil Jagielka in action against Luis Suarez in the World Cup
"The lads are feeling sharp and we will be able to tell more when it is a proper game in the Premier League, when there is all the anticipation, excitement and adrenaline.
"Hopefully that will give us an extra little boost."
The defender featured in just two of Everton’s five pre-season friendlies – playing 55 minutes against FC Porto in Leon Osman's testimonial, and the full 90 against SC Paderbom in the club’s final warm-up fixture ahead of their curtain raiser on Saturday.
But the England man insists that despite the lack of pre-season game time – and some mixed fortunes in terms of results – he and his team-mates are fully prepared for the upcoming campaign.
"We’ve had a couple of disappointing results [in pre-season] but the main thing is most of the players have managed to stay injury free," he added.
"We’ve upped things in training and the boys are looking sharp.
"We are all raring to go and, come Saturday, hopefully we play well and win."
“We are all raring to go and, come Saturday, hopefully we play well and win”
Phil Jagielka
The Toffees have endured a disappointing pre-season. They failed to win any of their five fixtures, drawing two and losing three.
However, Jagielka is adamant the results bear no significance to Everton’s chances of enjoying another successful season in the Premier League.
"It’s probably the hardest pre-season the manager will have had with the amount of players that have been away at certain times," he said.
"We would have loved to have won some games but we all know we don’t get any points in those that you play in pre-season.
"If we go out and get the performance and result on Saturday then no-one is going to care what happened in pre-season."
