Nathan Patterson's recent exclusion from the Everton squad has prompted a somewhat cryptic response from Sean Dyche.
The Merseyside outfit are desperate to avoid the drop to the English Championship and sit level on points with the likes of West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth as the relegation battle intensifies. The ex-Burnley boss has experience of staving off the drop and has managed to be unbeaten in Everton's previous four games.
But there has been no place for former Rangers starlet Patterson, who is available after suffering an injury earlier this season. The right-back was a regular feature under Frank Lampard after a tough start to life on Merseyside upon his £16million move from Ibrox. He has managed just 63 minutes of Premier League football this year.
Despite this, the defender was on hand to show up for Scotland in wins against Cyprus and Spain, but was not been included in Dyche's squad for the 1-1 draw against Spurs. And the English manager did offer something of an explanation when quizzed.
He said following Monday's clash: "There's only so many you can put in a squad you know...I don't know if you've noticed."
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