THERE would seem few places more appropriate than the glorious surrounds of the Alps for Everton to start climbing their pre-season mountain in earnest.

And while Saturday’s scoreline was not as easy on the eye as the scenery, there were enough positive sights for David Moyes to be satisfied with his team’s Swiss sojourn.

The week-long training camp served to blow off the cobwebs on the available senior professionals while handing a clutch of young hopefuls the chance to stake their fledgling claims.

Moyes will lose little sleep over the eventual 1-0 defeat to FC Sion in Martigny’s quaint, picturesque Stade d’Octodure at the foot of the Swiss Alps.

Their opponents are much further down the line of their pre-season preparations, this being Sion’s seventh summer friendly ahead of their domestic campaign, which begins on Friday. And, having ultimately been unable to call on 12 first-team members, Everton’s line-up was top-heavy with young reserves and Academy players.

Moyes believes that, overall, the hopefuls made the most of their opportunity.

“This is a good launchpad for our pre-season,” he says.

“It was a game that was maybe a little bit early for us, but I’m glad that I took the game on.

“We’ve trained really hard and we haven’t left up.

“It was perhaps a bigger shift for the senior players here because they had a bigger job, but it was great that some of the young boys discovered the level that they have to step up to.

“I think I’ve learned a bit more about some of the youngsters although we knew bits about them already.”

Right-back John Irving and midfielders Jose Baxter and Jack Rodwell can be particularly pleased with their efforts.

Although still only 16 years of age, Baxter belies his youth both in physical stature and on-field composure and presence while fellow teenager Rodwell, having made his record-breaking first-team breakthrough as a 16-year-old last season, continues to show genuine signs of promise and did not look out of place in central midfield alongside skipper Phil Neville.

“We didn’t know all that much about Jose Baxter because he’s only 16-years-old and has just left school, but he started and got 60 minutes and did well,” adds Moyes.

“Jack Rodwell we knew more about, but all the youngsters have done well.”

The lengthy absentee list, added to by James Vaughan and Leighton Baines not quite ready for action and training ground injuries to Leon Osman and Andrew Johnson, handed a rare start to Andy van der Meyde.

Even rarer was the fact the Dutchman lasted the full 90 minutes.

Van der Meyde applied himself well and, such was his eagerness to impress, even managed to pick up a booking for dissent.