LATEST NEWS

Dyche Heaps Praise On Everton Fans

Sean Dyche has praised the Everton fans’ role in helping secure Sunday’s vital 1-0 win over Bournemouth at Goodison Park.   

Despite the disappointment of the campaign, Evertonians travelled in their masses up and down the country all year and showed unwavering support for the team.   

They rallied emphatically one final time on Sunday, creating a cauldron of atmosphere at the Grand Old Lady which helped spur the team on to victory – one that crucially secured Everton’s Premier League survival.   

“I can't praise them enough,” Dyche told evertonfc.com.  

“It was a shame we couldn’t get to thank our fantastic supporters after the final whistle but it was a security-led decision for the team not to go back on.  

“It goes without saying how grateful we are to them for their terrific backing for the team, not just today but home and away throughout the season, and especially for me as a new manager at this great club.”  

Doucoure's superb strike just before the hour mark handed Everton a warranted lead. However, they had to dig deep for the remainder of the game as the away side threw everything at Dyche’s men in search of a late equaliser.  

Explaining the difficulties Everton faced after taking the lead, Dyche said: “They dropped out with their three centre-halves and started loading the box after putting the big, physical players on.    

“It's difficult. You don't want to come out of shape too early to press because then they can open that chance up and it drops in behind you. You want to consolidate. We found a way of seeing it through.”  

The victory, of course, extended Everton’s stay among English football’s elite to a 70th successive season.   

Dyche accepts there was a relief at securing that target but was quick to reinstate that there’s going to be plenty of work ahead to avoid falling into a similarly perilous position again.   

“We've got a very difficult task done,” he says. “We found enough points to get us through this season and, as I said, there's a lot to be done, a hell of a lot to be done.   

“We've shown the fighting spirit that you need but, equally, I've just told the players, that we shouldn't be in this state so we've got to learn from that. Next season is going to be a big season.”  

He added: “You're only a big club if you're doing big club things. That's what we have to change because it is a big club but we have to get it back to being one on the pitch, not just off it.”