**Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has set his sights on ‘being better’ for Everton this season.**
Dewsbury-Hall opened the scoring in Saturday’s win over Crystal Palace as the hosts [began a Premier League season with maximum points for a first time in 2021](https://www.clickliverpool.com/sport/everton-fc/67441-everton-2-0-c-palace-three-talking-points-david-moyes-kiernan-dewsbury-hall-harrison-armstrong/).
The playmaker continues to lead the way for David Moyes’ side with their most direct goal involvements in the top flight since the start of the previous campaign.
But Dewsbury-Hall insists that he is capable of raising personal standards for the Blues beyond contributing to goals and assists at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
He said: “I haven’t got a specific target in my head but I want to be better than last season. That’s not just goals and assists, it’s my overall play in the game.
“A couple of years ago I probably wasn’t getting goals and assists but was very influential in play and I want to mix that together and when you do that that’s when you become a complete player, a complete midfielder.
“That’s what I’m working towards and I know I have the ability to do it so fingers crossed I do it. I know I can do more.
“It’s hard to explain but I know in my heart I can do more in games, whether that is scoring and assisting, dominating games, doing more off the ball causing problems, I just believe in my heart there is more to come.
“That’s why for me last season is done and this season is a complete new chapter, a new slate, and it’s about being better.”
Everton will aim to move a step closer to ending a 31-year trophy drought when they face Preston North End in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup second round encounter.
Moyes’ return to his old club is set to receive added scrutiny after his current charges bowed out of both domestic cup competitions last year in the early stages.
And Dewsbury-Hall has revealed that the message relayed behind the scenes has been one of a meaningful push for silverware in the knockout fixtures.
“It was a long, long summer,” admitted the new Everton No.8.
“\[There was\] a lot of thoughts and processing things and, I’ll be honest, pre-season was long for me and I was just earmarking this game.
“It’s nice to start the season well and have a positive mood in the camp. I thought we were getting better in pre-season but it’s almost peaked now at the right time.
“We have another game in midweek and we want to go deep in a cup competition this year.
“That’s a message we’ve had, and hopefully we do that.”