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Sean Dyche urged his players to respond to Everton’s latest points deduction and inspire the “rise of the Toffees”.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference and quoted in Friday's edition of the Liverpool ECHO, the Blues boss called for his players to play on the front foot when they visit Chelsea's Stamford Bridge on Monday night.

He said: “The restart is Chelsea and a reaction to the news is important, a positive reaction - front foot thinking, front foot mentality as we call it, that's an important factor. That's certainly the challenge in front of us.

“We certainly did that last time. We changed the recent story [a club Premier League record of 13 games without a win] after a tough run of results with a win and an important win especially looking at the news that came next. We've got to build on that…Let's all pull together and get it done. The rise of the Toffees is important for us. When I was growing up that was the fans’ name, it’s changed slightly now everyone uses the name Evertonians, but when I was growing up it was the Toffees as well. We've got to play our part, make no mistake, I have never made an excuse since I've been here and never blamed anyone, but it is very helpful when our fans travel as they do in numbers and get behind us. I think that's a big part of what we can continue to work towards.”

Asked how big an achievement it would be to keep Everton in the Premier League after two relegation fights and an eight-point deduction, Dyche continued: “We should be on 35 points and I would be getting measured differently, myself and the team and the players and the club in spite of having a tough run. I think that's just fair. I think that's just honest. I keep going back to it. It's a current reality. I'm not bigger than the club. No-one's bigger than this club. So I'm working my hardest on it as a custodian of it and I will continue to do that no matter what's thrown at me or the club, I'll continue to do that. That's my responsibility. That's how I've always looked at football - as a player, as a coach and as a manager

“No-one's bigger than the club and no-one's certainly bigger than this badge. I've come to be very clear-minded on that. I can assure you. So my job is to just take it on. Whatever happens, whatever gets thrown at us, whatever mud gets thrown us, whatever problems, whatever angles, whatever criticisms, take it on, make sense of it and keep going forwards. That's my job and that's my responsibility and that's what I intend to do.”

Elsewhere, speaking in his weekly press conference, Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has labelled the Premier League’s handling of its Profit & Sustainability cases against his club and Everton as “a mess”.

“I’ve never experienced this situation,” he said, quoted in the Nottingham Post.

“I think none of us has experienced this before. It’s a mess, there's so much going on and we don't clearly know what's going to happen, so let’s leave it this way and wait. Me and the players are only focused on our tasks.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty. There’s an appeal going on, we’re still waiting."