Sean Dyche shares private chat with Dele Alli amid Everton grilling by Andy Gray
Sean Dyche has admitted to Andy Gray that a private chat with Dele Alli on the training pitch may have helped Everton turn their fortunes around on the pitch.
The Toffees have won five of their last seven games in all competitions which has seen them move up the table away from the relegation zone and head into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
And manager Dyche, who was asked by legendary blues striker Andy Gray on beIN Sports (4 November) what “playing the right way means” revealed that a chat with injured midfielder Dele may have helped him get his ideas across the team a bit better.
“Recently actually I had a chat with Dele Alli, great fella who has gone through a lot,” he said. “I had a chat with him and said, ‘Dele, what’s your thoughts [on our football]?
“He said, ‘I think you need to define with these players when you talk about direct play, I think they think that you mean kicking it forwards, but I know you don’t.’
“He worked under Pochettino who is similar. It’s about direct, passing football. Get turned play forwards, get turned play forwards. Dele got it.
“I told the players and I told them exactly the same story because I wanted them to understand that Dele now is in a really good place and he’s watching what we do and he’s thinking about it. And he’s exactly right Andy.
“We want direct play in the sense of play forward first.”
Learning
Dyche has been at the club for a little bit under a year now, but it’s clear that the team are only now starting to really click into what it is he wants from them.
The first six months were purely about survival and keeping the team in the Premier League, which we managed to do by the skin of our teeth. But this season has been about stamping his identity on the side.
It’s interesting that he says Dele Alli completely understood what he wanted because he worked under Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs, and sometimes it’s the perspective of someone on the outside that can help others understand things more.
That seems to be the case here because the performances in recent weeks have greatly improved and we’re starting to really see the Dyche identity at Goodison Park.
If the results and entertainment continue then fans will be happy, and it could yet go up a level if Dele returns to the fold and finds himself in the team later this season.
In other Everton news, star man shares January transfer plans after “getting used to losing almost every week” at Everton.