Everton manager Sean Dyche admits his players need to give their loyal but long-suffering fans more “to go on” if they’re to roar their side to safety for the second consecutive season.
The home supporters inside Goodison Park were galvanised into life when Dwight McNeil equalised against Fulham but a 3-1 defeat ultimately ensured there was a subdued atmosphere long before the full-time whistle blew.
Four of Everton’s remaining seven fixtures are now away and with just one success on the road all season in the Premier League, the Blues boss acknowledges a big effort is required.
Dyche said: “One thing we’re sure of is that I won’t be questioning the fans because since I’ve been here they’ve been absolutely amazing, everyone knows that and as soon as we scored they got right behind the team but it’s a dual thing, I said when I came here: ‘We’ve got to give them something and they give us something back or vice versa, they sometimes give you something as a team, the energy.’
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“But it’s a dual responsibility, we started a bit edgy, they started a bit edgy, we scored and they erupted and got right on it. After Fulham’s second goal, we didn’t give them enough to go on, you’ve got to give the fans something to go on.
“The away form has been poor for the last two years, I can’t brush that away, that’s the truth. So you’ve got two years of correction and what we’ve been trying to do is correct the mentality of away form and performance level because they’re hand in hand.
“That’s the challenge, it’s been there for two seasons, that’s the correction that we’re looking for. It’s work, it’s constant talking with the players, constant work on the training ground and building that mentality.
“I must remind you that games like Fulham are hard, there’s no two ways about it, but there have been definite steps forward with that, they’ve been quite obvious, everyone’s been speaking about it. There have been strides forward by the players in terms of mentality and taking performances away from home as well but this was a stark reminder you’ve got to be at it all the time and another word I’ve been using all the time is consistency, during a performance, not just every week, during a 90 minutes.”
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