Sean Dyche says the points penalty will energise the Everton...

Sean Dyche says the points penalty will energise the Everton team and supporters.

While Sean Dyche is optimistic that Everton’s 10-point penalty for

breaking Premier League financial rules won’t ruin their season,

he has cautioned his players that they shouldn’t count on the club’s appeal

to keep them out of relegation trouble.

The Everton manager expressed shock and resentment at the

decision made by an independent commission to impose the largest sporting

sanction in Premier League history due to a £19.5 million overspend in 2021–2022.

When Kevin Thelwell, Everton’s director of football,

told Dyche about the punishment, he was sick and on vacation in Dubai.

He said the deduction was unfair and out of proportion.

Following their return from international duty, Dyche spoke to the first team

players on Friday morning at Everton’s Finch Farm training facility.

Players posted defiant messages on their WhatsApp group in response to the news from last Friday.

During a run of six victories in nine games across all

competitions that had propelled Everton to 14th place in the table before

they were knocked back to 19th, their determination to keep up the momentum

and pull the team out of danger was communicated to the manager during their meeting on Friday.

According to Dyche, “the feeling was very positive in the sense

of building on the mentality that’s been there lately.”

We all talked about that and said that, despite the current circumstances,

it is still building. The participants have clear minds.

“Right lads, just another challenge, this is how we take it on,”

they posted on their WhatsApp group as soon as the news broke. It’s powerful that the group is assuming responsibility.

“I got from them the sense that: ‘What we’re building,

we don’t let anything disrupt that and we don’t let anything get in the way’.

You can’t guarantee it’s made a difference [to players’

resolve] yet because we haven’t played any games.

All I know is that the players know what we’re doing.

They’ve referenced that to me probably for the last six weeks.”