Everton’s players who remain at Finch Farm during the international break will be made to work, Sean Dyche insists.
The Blues boss said there would be some period of rest and perhaps some more “relaxed” training sessions for those of the first team squad who are not playing for their country over the coming fortnight.
But he stressed there will be “work time” as he continues his efforts to drill a squad he has had just seven weeks to get to know.
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Everton have 16 days between the 2-2 draw with Chelsea and the Monday night home tie with Tottenham Hotspur. With the likes of Jordan Pickford, Nathan Patterson and Alex Iwobi set to depart Merseyside for international action, Everton will have a reduced line-up at Finch Farm.
And while there will be some respite, Dyche plans to make them work. He said after the draw at Stamford Bridge: “The players who are not going away will be working, make no mistake about that, but they will get some rest as well because they are putting a lot in. I appreciate the effort from them, I really do. I appreciate it, so there will be some rest time, there will be some downtime, but there will be some work time.”
Having taken five points from three games and put together the best run of form of any of the nine sides in the relegation fight since his appointment in late January, Dyche was asked whether the break comes at a bad time for him and his squad. He said: “No not really, it’s there in the calendar, everyone knows it... They will do some work, that’s for sure, those who won’t be away. But they will get some days off as well to give them a break.
"I have asked a lot of this group so I’m proud of their efforts. I have asked a lot, they have crammed in a lot of new information, different ways of working - like all managers do, not just me, lots of different managers - so they need some downtime sometimes, so we try and give them days off, we try and relax periods of the training week. But the work still has to be done and they are certainly doing it so therefore they will get a bit of time off as well.”
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