Sean Dyche believes Everton’s warm weather training camp can be crucial in helping the group reset and gain an "extra edge" as they ready for the final 10 games of this Premier League campaign.
With no league fixture for three weeks, the Blues flew out to Portugal on Monday morning where they will remain in camp over the next few days.
For Dyche, the time away is an opportunity for a different training backdrop in a warmer climate and a chance for his squad to bond and revitalise ahead of a crucial final stretch of the campaign. Hard work remains at the forefront of the schedule, though, and the players were straight to work soon after arriving at the camp on Monday afternoon.
In an exclusive interview with evertontv, Dyche gave detailed insight into the benefits of the trip and explained what he expects the group to achieve from it.
The Blues boss also underlined why his players must retain belief in their work, while acknowledging the importance of converting the many chances they have been creating to get the reward their performances often deserve.
You can watch the interview in full below, or by clicking here.
“I think the first benefit is a bit of refreshing - not a physical refresh, because I think the stats are good on the team and the performances and the training schedule,” explained the Everton manager.
“With the three weeks [break between games] now, it's a tough ask to just keep going in and out of Finch Farm with no outcome. There's nothing at the end of those weeks, whereas the players are used to having that cycle of preparing, getting ready, tuning in and playing.
“We went to the Club and said we think it'd be a good idea and they backed us and supported us to give the lads, like I say, not so much a physical break because they'll be working out here - they'll get a bit of down time because I think that's important - but finding that balance to make sure they've got that edge about them going into the last 10 games.
“I think it's important to have them in the right physical shape, of course, but also the right mental shape. “The internationals, people like Jordan [Pickford], he plays almost constant football so to get him out here with us and then give him an extra day or two where he can see his family is important. That's an important factor.
“A lot of these players do that, travelling to various places to play for their international teams, so it is good to have the whole squad and whole staff here and have that chance to breathe, assess, make sense of where we're at and get ready for the last 10 [games].”
Everton headed to Portugal on the back of a tough streak of 11 league games without a win. That frustrating run of form has only been amplified by the performances from Dyche’s side in that time, with a number of imposing and dominant displays not being rewarded with justified victories.
As it stands, the Toffees rank eighth for the most shots generated in the Premier League, with the seven sides above them all sitting inside the league’s top eight places in the table.
Reflecting on that and recent form, Dyche acknowledged the importance of positive underlying numbers in the context of the overall process, but reiterated the need for his players to start backing them up with goals that will prove decisive in earning warranted wins.
“It’s been frustrating for myself and all involved with Everton Football Club,” accepted Dyche. “Whether you are players, staff, or fans - everyone involved. Because I think the performances have been generally good. I am amazed we haven’t won in the last 11 league games with the performances we have had.
“You think back to Tottenham away, it feels impossible. West Ham at home, Manchester United - I’ve not been with a team who dominate (the shot count) like that. But we got nothing out of them games. That’s just three, I think there are other performances, as well.
“There is a lot of good in those performances, my assistant Woany says there has to be a future in what you do and there clearly is. The other side to that is having that bit of devil and that moment of truth - in front of goal, mainly. I think that is the thing, spreading your wings again.
“If you think back to after the 10-point situation, it was a different feeling in front of goal. Everyone was just flying in, that was because everyone saw it in a different way. That paradigm moment when we get four [points] back and a few were like, ‘Oh okay, we thought we would get more’.
“Then handling that, dealing with that and adding that freedom in. Saying, ‘Right, we have got four back, it could have been zero’. So now go and spread your wings and take it on.
“We pretty much have, but you have got to score goals. There is no point trying to sweep that under the carpet - it is there and real.
“We have opened that up with the players, the coaching side of things, but also the moment of truth for individuals, having that freedom to miss. Take it on, go and miss again, and again, because it will eventually go in.
“That’s how football works, if you are getting in there often enough, trying to score with freedom and clarity, then it will go in. It’s about reaffirming that with the players while also maintaining standards that we are setting, because you have got to stay up there. We don’t just want a lucky one, we want to do it by design, not by fault.”
