Dyche's 'Responsibility' Message For Villa Test

Sean Dyche believes he and his Everton players must take ownership to bounce back from a difficult defeat last time out by relying on each other to deliver “a good enough performance to win” when they face Aston Villa on Saturday.

The weekend’s fixture – the Toffees’ fourth Premier League game of the campaign – sees the Blues travel to face Unai Emery's side in a 5.30pm (BST) kick-off.

In their last game before the international break, Everton were two goals up against Bournemouth at Goodison Park, looking to be heading for their first win of the season. But three Cherries strikes from the 87th minute onwards ensured they left with maximum points.

Almost two weeks on, Dyche – speaking in Thursday’s pre-match press conference – reflected on his side’s previous outing.

“We’re all disappointed with that and inevitably it’s my responsibility,” said the Everton manager. “The players – I’d like to think – over 20 months here have learned to deal with those situations. We obviously didn’t on the day.

“We didn’t do the things that were necessary to see the game through and we’ve got to continually learn from that. Games are never over and the game against Bournemouth was a great example of that.

“It was a very strong performance for 87 minutes and then we all saw what happened next. That was a really hard one to take, but it does happen from time to time. Fortunately, not very often, but it did happen.

“We’ve got a group of players who are mature enough to know at that stage of the game how to see it through, and we just didn’t do that.”

The focus this week has been on Saturday’s opponents, said Dyche, who acknowledged the difficulty of the challenge that awaits when his side make the trip to Villa Park.

Emery’s team have earned victories in two of their three opening Premier League games, beating West Ham and Leicester City, while losing to title-contenders Arsenal.

On the strengths of Villa, Dyche explained: “They’ve done very well with the coaching they have there and the manager. I think he’s done a tremendous job.

“They’ve invested but invested well. It’s not easy and you have to choose the right players who can enhance what you do. They’re a good outfit.

“They’re learning, I think, because the more games that come around, a lot of clubs learn how to manage it and learn how to deal with it. We can’t rely on any of that. We have to rely on us performing and us giving a good enough performance to win.”

Prior to the press conference, the Club released a statement to address the comments made by John Textor in relation to a potential purchase of Everton.

Asked about the statement and the remarks from Mr Textor, Dyche responded: “Regarding the comments, if you’re a prospective owner and you are going to comment, you’re probably going to ask certain questions. That’s the way it goes – finding out what you’re prospectively going to buy or getting a feel or giving a feel as the case may be.

“I haven’t had the chance [to speak to John Textor]. I don’t think the deal is to that position. Like I say, if you’re a prospective owner of a club, you probably would want to build a relationship, or certainly know the manager's thoughts in any situation.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily about me and Everton Football Club. He isn’t the current owner, obviously, but if he did take it over then I’m sure he’d have that conversation. But I think that’s standard practice.”