James Tarkowski has followed in the footsteps of his manager Sean Dyche by calling on all connected to Everton to stick together and has described Frank Lampard's sacking as "unfortunate".
Speaking in his first press conference as Everton boss, Dyche called for unity at the club following weeks of turmoil on and off the pitch. Protests against the running of the club have become a fixture during the Blues' recent games.
And that was the case on Saturday as thousands of Blues supporters marched to Goodison Park from The Royal Oak pub. However, once inside the ground, Everton fans were right behind their side and the raucous atmosphere helped Dyche’s men over the line.
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And Tarkowski, who was the Blues' match winner after he headed home Dwight McNeil’s corner on the hour, believes it is important everyone sticks together moving forward as the club aims to move away from relegation trouble.
He said: “It's part of professional football. Everyone has an opinion on the way you're playing and what you're doing.
“We've just got to stick together as a group. We want the fans right behind us and today they were. Hopefully we can all stick together as a full club and move forward.”
Dyche was appointed Everton manager last week following Lampard’s dismissal. The former England midfielder was sacked following a poor run of form that saw the Blues pick up just one in 12 Premier League matches.
“It's never nice and all the lads loved the manager. It was just unfortunate that we couldn't give him any results,” Tarkowski said when about Lampard’s sacking.
“But we have to respond now to the new manager coming in. I think after a good week of work we've had, it's nice to finish it the way we have today.”
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