Sean Dyche said his side needs to cut out serious mistakes but that he had not witnessed the fragility critics have suggested his Everton side have displayed throughout the season.
The Blues fell to a 4-0 defeat at Arsenal on Wednesday, the third and fourth goals coming as the hosts dismantled them during a difficult second half. Everton were competitive for the first 40 minutes but, after conceding two goals just before half-time, parts of the performance were similar to the defeats to Bournemouth and Brighton.
In both those matches Everton struggled to stay in the games after going behind. Even under Dyche, the club’s successes have come from defending leads rather than when having to chase a game.
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The psychological strength of the squad has been the focus of attention at various points this season - not just after some of the bigger defeats but also in the damaging losses to relegation rivals Wolves, West Ham and Southampton. For Dyche, his initial impression has been that the side is more resilient than has been suggested.
Asked whether he had found the team to be fragile, he said: “Not since I’ve been here. I mean maybe previously. It seems to be documented that before I was here there was that, but since [I arrived] they have taken the challenge on.
"Arsenal’s a funny one. They are strong - don’t get me wrong, they are currently playing very well, but I remarked afterwards that a year-ish ago they were getting heavily questioned that group, as individuals, the manager, the whole group. They’ve signed some players of course, but it’s got a similar look about it.
"They’ve developed into what they are now. So people have short memories. You have to look at it [with a broader mind]. For 40 minutes everyone says that is a really strong performance for an Everton side at Arsenal, who are top of the league. Chances to score, chances to break open, and the madness of football is you end up two down.”
Dyche acknowledged mistakes had undermined some of his team’s efforts in his first month - highlighting four key errors, including Idrissa Gueye losing the ball in a dangerous position in the build up to Arsenal’s second goal. Yet while he is keen to remove them from performances, he does not believe they are symbolic of deep-seated issues within his players.
He added: “I think the resilience has been pretty good. We made two mistakes in the Liverpool game, one in the Villa game and then Gana’s the other night. Those four individual errors are not helpful and they change the look of how it is. We eradicate them and we are already looking better. Of course we have to take them out.”
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