Sean Dyche has fixed problem he identified at Everton back in 2021

As Burnley boss, Dyche questioned whether Everton’s players knew how to win games. His criticism remained relevant until the good form that he is now overseeing

Sean Dyche remarked that Everton seemed to have lost their ability to win games the last time they visited Turf Moor.

His remarks coincided with Burnley’s stunning comeback victory, which forced Frank Lampard’s Everton to a barely victorious relegation battle.

Just over 18 months later, Dyche is at the helm at Goodison Park and it is only now that the issue he identified has finally been addressed.

Three consecutive wins in London. Nine in 13 matches. Three just last week – his Everton side is making a habit of snatching victories. He believes that winning is a “learned skill”. If that is the case, recent results suggest he has been an effective teacher.

On the surface, this forthcoming match appears to have the same context as Everton’s previous trip to east Lancashire; Burnley is wanting to win in order to put pressure on Everton and possibly make the Blues start to look over their shoulder.

They had done so in 2021, when Everton twice took the lead via to penalties from Richarlison, but Burnley rallied in the second half to win and push the visitors into their circle.

After the game, Dyche remarked, “I’ve been down there, I know what it’s like, and every season there have been tough patches for us.” That was Everton’s seventh loss in ten games. It’s difficult to describe, but occasionally you get the feeling that a squad may have forgotten how to win a game. ‘I’m not convinced these know how to win a game, away from home particularly,’ I said to them at halftime. I informed them that in order to play with that mindset, we must be more aggressive and play forward with greater quality.

Much has changed since then, and on Saturday afternoon, as he approaches a year since taking over at Everton, Dyche will visit his former haunt and make his way to the away dressing room.

His team is currently sitting just above the relegation zone, much as the Everton of April 2021. But that’s only because of the 10 point deduction; if it weren’t for that, Dyche’s club would already be firmly established in midtable.

For once in a long while, at least since he made those remarks as Burnley’s manager, Dyche’s previous assertions about a team’s inability to win are no longer applicable to the Blues. The team is genuinely enjoying a winning streak that has lasted for several months.

This is, he thinks, because in his quest for consistent advancement, he paid equal attention to mentality and methods. Though it has taken some time, he believes his players are beginning to demonstrate that they have absorbed his knowledge and methodology.

“Okay, now that I’m here, how can we add that formula, those winning edges?” he said.

It’s not only about quality or tactics; it’s also about understanding and learning how to win games as a team, and I believe this is an acquired talent.

It is likely that certain teams will win certain games because they have an amazing number of players with exceptional potential.

We have got real talent here but we have got to maximise that talent and I think what we are doing is bringing a formula to the way the team operate that is allowing them to begin to maximise individually and collectively and as you can imagine, if you are maximising, you are going to give yourself a way better chance of winning games and I think we are beginning to show that.”

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