Sean Dyche has underlined that changes must happen at Everton for them to become a big club in nature as well as name after they secured their Premier League status and a 70th successive season in the top flight on the final day of the campaign.
Everton went into a pivotal afternoon knowing that a victory over Bournemouth would see them scramble clear of relegation at the death for the second consecutive season and Abdoulaye Doucoure’s 57th-minute strike from distance sealed the precious win.
Whereas 12 months ago Everton secured their safety with a game to spare and joy was in as much supply as relief, on this occasion, there was a realism and, although the job had been done, a sense that hard work is still very much required to get the club back in proper working order.
“It’s a horrible day for all concerned, there is no joy in it for me other than getting the job done,” said Dyche, who only took over in late January. “I came in here to change a mentality and I think there have been signs of that. There is still more to go.
“I said to the players ‘We shouldn’t be here. Enjoy this today and you’ve earned it but at the end of the day it has got to change’. There is no point in sitting on it and saying ‘Look how great we are’ because it is not like that. There is loads to change here and a lot of work to be done but it was a big step to secure it.”
Avoiding a first relegation since 1951 was seen as crucial for a club that are in a precarious financial position, have an unbalanced squad and a fanbase that are at odds with a board who have not been able to attend games at Goodison Park since January.
Despite staying up, Everton have a job on their hands to move forward and not fall into the trap of reprising similar failings. Dyche laid out the task in hand at the end of an emotional day.
“Don’t think I thought this was an easy fix because it is not, far from it,” he added. “It’s a big club, make no mistake. Big history, big club, but we are not performing like a big club. We have to find a way of changing that. This is two seasons now.
“I’ve played my little part in two seasons of this but there is a massive amount of change to build to a new dawn, a new future, a bigger future if you like.”
Threadbare and imbalanced squad needs addressing
Everton crawled over the line and the fighting spirit the players have shown in recent weeks says a lot about Dyche’s impact.
Against Bournemouth, the manager had to contend with a growing injury crisis that saw Dominic Calvert-Lewin ruled out, no recognised full back available and a failure to name a full compliment of substitutes.
“You have seen the squad we had today, that’s a stretched as I’ve ever seen it, and yet nobody would have cared,” Dyche said. “If we didn’t get it done today, they wouldn’t have said the reality that ‘He’s had nothing to work with’. They just would have said ‘He didn’t get it done’.
“That’s life as a football manager. So I’m glad we did it and found a way as we had to change shape and personnel. It’s difficult when you’re missing really important players and you’re missing them a lot.”
As for whether there will be the need to sell players during the summer given the club has recorded losses of over £430 million in the past four years, Dyche added: “There’s a chance. I’ll find out about that.
“We had to get this [safety] sorted out, we’ve got it over the line. It was absolutely the key focus. Now it is time to immediately re-focus on the rest of it.”