Sean Dyche hailed Everton's vital win over relegation rivals Leeds United as "another step in the right direction".
The Blues boss said he was pleased with the performance that underpinned the 1-0 win and thought it showed progression as he continues to work with his new squad. In particular, he praised the displays of Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure who helped Everton win the battle in midfield. Dyche said Amadou Onana was aided by having the pair around him today, adding: "I thought Doucoure and Gana were absolutely outstanding, both of them"
And while he again refused to get carried away with a vital three points - just as he made a point of refusing to do so following the recent win over Arsenal - he acknowledged there were positives to take from his second win in three games in the role.
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Seamus Coleman's stunning second half strike gave Everton a deserved win and helped the club move out of the relegation zone at the expense of Leeds. Yet while it saw Everton climb the table, wins for Southampton and Bournemouth capped off a successful day for several teams in the lower reaches of the table.
Asked what it meant to him for Everton to move out of the bottom three, Dyche chose to respond by emphasising the value of the performance above its implications on the table. He said: “You see the other results, the topsy-turvy nature of the Premier League. It [the win] does not guarantee anything but for me it just reinforces the work we are trying to do with the players. I only try to guide them with what I think is important for them and what I think is good for them.
"I think they are showing, they are adapting, to what it is. They still have the freedom to go and play and I thought that was better today. Don't get me wrong - you play Arsenal and that is not easy because they are flying, Liverpool for different reasons, a tight game away from home and with the meaning and the purpose of it all that I am learning about.
"Today it was finding that balance between defending very, very solidly which we did - I don't think they had a shot on target - and then finally on the transitions how many times we can play ourselves and I thought there was some good quality football today so we want that balance to be right. You tie all that together with the work ethic and the demands on the group physically and I thought that was very good today."
Dyche said his thoughts were already turning to the build-up to Everton's next game, which is at home to Aston Villa next Saturday. He said: “What's going through my head is just a week of training: recovery on Tuesday, then a couple of days training and the way the players put that into practice, sticking in some of the principles we think are important going forwards and delivering a performance in order to win. I thought that mentality was clear today and I think that is important going forward. It is another step in the right direction. There are lots of steps to still be taken."
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