Sean Dyche is adamant Everton’s fortunes do not rest on the fitness of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and stressed it is his ambition to build an attacking unit that is not reliant on just one player. Asked about the squad and the goalscoring issues faced by his side, Dyche once again explained his intention to build a team that is effective whoever is leading the attack. He accepted the balance of the squad he had inherited is “not quite right” but said he believed in the players he was working with.
Sean Dyche said: “A lot of noise has been made about striking options but I believe in the players here… I have been talking about the group, the players, how we can find a way. I think that is important to remember – it is about how we can find a way to be productive and win matches. It is not just about one player but how the team can find a way and I was pleased with that [against Leeds] In my opinion we had some very good chances, I think we had one cleared off the line, the keeper makes a couple of saves, things were flashing across the box. We want to ask more questions of the opposition. We want to mix our play, we have never been too worried about styles as long as they are effective, I want to play effective football and I want this team to play effective football and I think it was [against Leeds]. I think just that freedom, I spoke to the players about it, that freedom to miss. I said to them before, ‘don’t get tight in the box’. It doesn’t bother me if you miss – if you miss you miss, that is just the way it goes, you won’t be hearing from me. You will only be hearing from me if you are not in there to score and you are not shooting, you are not finishing with a deliberate manner to score a goal. That is the only time you will be hearing from me. But if you miss a chance it is no problem to me so long as you are in there to take that chance or create a chance, that is the key to me. And then the freedom comes on the back of that – and of course results, which give everyone that extra bit of confidence to feel a bit freer and go and score a goal.”
