Dyche Hopeful For More When Key Players Return

Sean Dyche is hopeful Everton’s pre-season performances will pick up when key players are back in the side – but was left disappointed others did not stake a claim during Tuesday night’s 3-0 friendly defeat at Coventry City.

The Blues were without recent signings Jesper Lindstrøm and Jake O’Brien and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the Coventry Building Society Arena, while a long list of injury absentees remained out including James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, Vitalii Mykolenko, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Nathan Patterson, along with Youssef Chermiti, who Dyche confirmed the Club were awaiting results on a foot injury.

The Toffees boss admitted so many “important” regular players missing meant it was difficult to prepare in the best way possible, although he was positive on a handful of players returning in the next week, with a trip to Preston North End next up on Saturday.

Despite that, Dyche conceded his team’s display against Mark Robins’ Championship side was “miles off” what is needed, even in a pre-season friendly.

“Obviously [the game] showed how many players we are missing, very important players,” Dyche told evertontv.

“Credit to Mark [Robins] and his team, they looked game-ready on that performance, that’s for sure. They are a team that went close last season to getting promotion and certainly on that performance you would fancy that for this coming season.

“From our point of view, like I say, we are missing too many very important players. We are hoping they are going to come back sooner rather than later.

“We are bedding players in and it is difficult when they are in this fitness period to just do any tactical shape and understanding. So we are trying to manage a lot and get it all right when we know deep down there are five, six, seven players who have been very important to us who will be important again.

“There’s three or four we think might be close for the weekend, but two or three we might have to protect beyond then.

“There is better news with Tarky, he might be around it at the weekend, we will see. Gana as well might be around it. Jordan is obviously not back yet.

“Jake, we will see on his fitness, he is another newcomer to us. There’s a few more on top of that. Jesper is more of a common sense sort of thing; he’s just got here – a niggly thigh, nothing too heavy. Jarrad is making progress as well but isn’t quite there yet.”

On his team’s display in the Midlands, which saw the Blues concede midway through the first half to Everton Academy graduate Ellis Simms, before two goals after the break, Dyche added: “At the end of the day, beyond the result, which is important by the way, make no mistake, we are trying to get players through these games. We are trying to get minutes, we are trying not to break them because of the other injuries we have got.

“The only thing I am really disappointed in is you want players to come in and really lay down a marker. You want them to say, ‘Gaffer I am ready, I am obviously game-ready the way I am playing and the way I am going about it’. I don’t think we had too much of that tonight.

“Forget about the result, you are still looking for that spark from players, and habits, and I thought the habits were miles off in the first half and most of the game, to be fair.

“Some of that is the fact we haven’t got into that side, the tactical side, but it’s difficult when we are missing seven players. Bedding them in, we have new players learning, it’s all them things.

“Like I said, there’s no excuse, I thought Mark’s team were excellent tonight and that’s what you come across in the Premier League, really, some real high-quality performances like that so I thought they were top of the game.”