Sean Dyche admitted he is extremely pleased to see his Everton side developing different ways to win football matches as he spoke about the key factors developing throughout his squad.

The Toffees produced a determined display at Selhurst Park to secure a 3-2 victory against hosts Crystal Palace. 

It was a frantic contest where the Blues took early leads in each half - first through Vitalli Mykolenko and then Abdoulaye Doucoure.

However, the hosts battled back and levelled on both occasions, Eberechi Eze’s penalty made the game 1-1 and Odsonne Edouard drew the game level at 2-2 with less than 20 minutes to go.  

Although Everton struggled to gain a real foothold in the second period, they dug deep and managed to keep the home side at bay. 

Then, with just four minutes remaining, Dyche's men scored the decisive winning goal as Idrissa Gana Gueye collected a pass from Doucoure before driving into the penalty area and slotting superbly past Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. 

While Dyche admitted he's seen better overall displays from his side, the ability to win while not at their best adds another layer of satisfaction to the result. 

"We are locking in a mentality," he told evertontv. "I know we can play better than today. We can deal with the ball better. Particularly in the second half, we got a bit confused with how we were trying to affect the game with the ball. 

"But the resilience and mentality is growing all the time. The Evertonians can see that with the ability to win games. I said to the team when we got here, we have to learn to win. Everyone talks about styles, but you have to win. 

"The team are finding different ways to win.  Today was a brilliant example of that, without being fluid or near to our early season form where we played very well. Without that, still finding the grit, determination and hard yards to get the win today. That is really pleasing."

Gana's strike in the 86th minute was his first Everton goal since April 2018. 

The Senegal international started last week's battling 1-1 draw with Brighton and put in a tireless shift in the heart of Everton's midfield. 

Dyche admitted he was unlucky to miss out on his starting XI for Saturday's contest, but praised the midfielder for the impact he had coming into the game at half-time.

Dyche explained: "Gana was unlucky not to start. But Amadou has done great in the four games Gana was missing. He (Onana) had a tight calf, but he's been getting through it. We wondered whether he should start, and he just looked a bit impeded by it, and we didn't want him to get a proper injury that could keep him out for a while. 

"Gana came on and was excellent. His professionalism has been excellent, anyway, but I thought his second half was very good."

Having called for his squad to be less reliant on just the forward players to score goals earlier in the campaign, Dyche reflected on the fact it was a defender and two midfielders who got on the scoresheet for his side in the victory and added: "I'm very pleased for that. The goal machine Myko; it's a fine strike that nearly goes in as well [leading to Doucoure's goal]. He nearly got himself a brace. 

"Doucs has been Johnny-on-the-spot since I have got here, he finds his way of scoring. 

"That's an important factor in finding goals. A lot of noise was made about that, can we score more goals? We are beginning to do that."