Dwight McNeil admitted Saturday’s win over Burnley felt “massive” in the context of the season - but was quick to state the squad’s focus had already switched to building on it with a victory over Chelsea next Monday. 

The stakes were high heading into Saturday’s clash at Goodison Park, with the relegation-threatened visitors desperate for three points that would not only boost their survival prospects but also drag the Toffees closer towards the Premier League relegation zone. 

Sean Dyche’s men managed the game well, though, restricting their opponents to just one shot on target en route to a 1-0 win, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal just before half-time securing all of the spoils. 

McNeil told evertontv that the win felt significant, but also said the group won’t be dwelling on the success. 

“It was a massive win, for the lads and confidence, but also for the fans as well,” he explained. “We hadn’t won in a while so it was more of a relief, but we have still got seven games to go so we have to kick on. We can’t settle [on the Burnely result], we have to kick on and keep winning games.

“It’s good that we can now recover a bit more and reflect a bit more on what just happened, then look at how we can hurt Chelsea on Monday night because like I said, we have got to go there with the same intention, we need points on the board. We all know that and we know what job needs to be done.”

Burnley arrived on Merseyside unbeaten in four league matches - their best-undefeated run of the league campaign. They’d also found the back of the net in each of those fixtures, while registering four or more shots on target in seven of their past nine games. 

Everton’s success came down to their hard work without the ball, with their pressing forcing Burnely errors that led to the game’s two decisive moments. First Calvert-Lewin charged down an attempted clearance from Burnley goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, causing the ball to rebound off Everton’s No.9 and loop into the net. 

Then in the second half, McNeil pounced on a loose touch from Clarets’ defender Dara O’Shea, forcing him to make a rash lunging challenge that led to a red card. 

“We knew it was about staying in shape and being diligent,” said McNeil reflecting on the performance. “We knew we would get chances, we weren’t as good in possession and we know we can do better, but the main thing was getting the three points. We will rest and then get ready to go again because we have a massive game next Monday."

While on the confidence gained from the win, the winger added: “We can have more belief in ourselves [after ending the winless run]. Going forward, we can be better in possession, try and create better chances and score more goals and win more games because like I said we still have to win more games.”