Dewsbury-Hall Outlines Key Everton Improvements Required For Run-In

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has called upon Everton’s players to “stand up and be counted” after the Blues suffered a second-consecutive stoppage time defeat.

West Ham United’s Callum Wilson netted a 92^nd-minute goal on Saturday at the London Stadium, sealing a 2-1 win for the hosts while cancelling out a Dewsbury-Hall equaliser just minutes before. 

For Everton, the manner of defeat was similar to that of the Merseyside derby a week earlier – and Dewsbury-Hall says the Toffees must improve if they are to rediscover their strongest form.

On his 88^th-minute leveller, the midfielder explained: “It's a late goal for us, which came at an important time and probably puts us in the ascendancy to try to win the game. But it's an awful goal to concede a couple of minutes later. 

“I mean, it's not good enough that we go and score and then concede so quickly after. We need to look at ourselves and look at what we've not done right. We conceded two poor goals. 

“And, yeah, it's really, really frustrating because we put ourselves in a position to at least get a point and we're walking away with nothing.” 

After defeats to Liverpool and West Ham, Everton have slipped to 11^th in the Premier League table, but – just three points off sixth – they remain in contention to qualify for European football for next season.

“This where you've got to stand up and be counted in the run-in,” continued Dewsbury-Hall. “It’s the most important time of the season where if you do the right thing, you can grab it by the scruff of the neck. 

“Unfortunately, we're not doing that at the moment so we need to look at ourselves and change it quickly because we've got four big games to go.

“It up to us, if we get the right results and the right mentality, we'll put ourselves in the right position.”

Keen for a sharp bounce back, the Toffees’ set-piece defending must improve, says Dewsbury-Hall, adding: “The last four goals we’ve conceded in the last two games have been just awful. There's no other word to describe it. 

“They're so poor and easy for teams to score against us, which has not been us for large parts of the season. We’ve been so tough to beat, so resilient, and the goals are just not good enough, and we know that, and we have to take accountability for that.  

“Set-pieces obviously need to improve, because that's killing us at the moment, so we need to go back on the training pitch and work harder at the moment because they're putting us on the back foot in games.  

“It’s not good at the moment, I'll be honest, but it's about now how we can bounce back and show we’re still in the fight.”