Everton winger Bernard is an enthusiast of manager Marco Silva’s exacting standards and attention to detail.
Bernard has occasionally struggled to impose himself on the Premier League since joining the Merseyside club on a free transfer last summer from Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.
He has scored only once this season but an encouraging cameo in the win at Cardiff last week convinced Silva to hand Bernard a starting role against Liverpool, with the Brazilian delivering an assured display in a goalless draw at Goodison Park.
The 26-year-old is keen to develop his game under Silva as he is a subscriber of the Portuguese’s philosophies of high intensity, both in attack and defence.
He said on Everton’s official website: “Without a doubt, (the manager is demanding) and emphasises the need to work hard – it is a collective effort and through that, we become stronger as a team.
“We have to do a lot of work. Football has changed a lot (for forwards), it is not just an offensive game, you have to be defensive as well.
“I give my best not just in attack but defensively, too. I have that intuition, that if you keep a clean sheet you are one step closer to victory.”
Despite impressing in his two most recent outings, Bernard is not taking a starting berth for granted at Newcastle, where Everton will be without Leighton Baines while there are doubts over Phil Jagielka’s availability.
The stalemate against derby rivals Liverpool last Sunday kept the Toffees 10th in the table and Bernard is optimistic of building on the result at St James’ Park, where Newcastle have claimed four successive league wins.
Bernard said: “It is very important to focus and prepare for Newcastle because it will be a difficult match and we want to keep adding points to our total.
“I hope to play but there is a lot of competition and everybody in the squad wants the same thing.”
Bernard believes his chances of remaining in the starting XI have been enhanced by him developing an understanding on the left flank with full-back Lucas Digne.
Bernard added: “Me and Lucas are constantly talking on the pitch and during training. And as he is playing a bit farther back he has better vision of what is going on than I do.
“He speaks to me continually during the game, he sees the full picture and it is important he tells me where I can close down the spaces and prevent the ball from getting through. I think we are working well together.”
