Plan is to buy a house near Goodison to

Everton Under 23s have braved the cold and the winter air in Liverpool by sleeping overnight in Goodison Park to raise money for the homeless.

The entirety of David Unsworth's U23 squad took to the Toffees' stadium, along with supporters and club staff, to sleep in the Park End stand and in turn raise money for a worthy cause.

With the aim of raising £230,000, Everton's plan is to buy a house outside Goodison to renovate and make available for the use of homeless children.

Everton's Under 23 starlets spent the night sleeping in the Toffees' Goodison Park stadium

The Everton in the Community fundraising event took place on the coldest night of the year so far, with temperatures dipping as low as -4 degrees Celsius inside the stadium.

Toffees director Denise Barrett-Baxendale was also on hand to confirm club chairman Bill Kenwright had also made a personal contribution to the cause to the tune of £23,000.

Manager David Unsworth was full of praise for his young stars and commended their ability and willingness to buy into the ethos and values of the club.

'It makes me very proud that our lads have grasped this. Every single one not involved in the first team wanted to do the sleepover,' Unsworth told the Times.

Gethin Jones, Jonjoe Kenny and Conor Grant bed down on the corner spot at Goodison

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (L) Bassala Sambou (C) and Antonee Robinson (R) wrap up for the night

'I'd like to think we don't have any big-time charlies here, there's no socks over knees, no hats, no gloves, no snoods, no tights, none of that rubbish, no gimmicks. They're not even allowed to wear red boots because it's red - Liverpool,' he added.

Unsworth turned out 314 times for Everton during a long career, and recognises the importance the club has to its local area.

'Everton is the biggest family in football. It was a tough night, it was really cold. But we got through it,' Unsworth said.

'The lads really took to it well. It was great to share the night with the lads and the 50 supporters. We've had some good chats during the night and it was nice that we were all together doing it for a great cause.

Manager David Unsworth and the entirety of his squad took part in the charitable event

'For one night, we can sit there and say we did it. But we were all wrapped up with layers of clothing on. There are people out there doing this for real and that is the scary thing. That is why we are doing this - because we want to stop this.

'We want to give all those people on the streets of Liverpool a helping hand and get them off the streets and somewhere safe where they can get back on their feet again,' he added.