Journalist shares ‘superb’ Vitalii Mykolenko verdict live on BBC as ‘weird’ Everton claim made
Vitalii Mykolenko “looks superb” under Sean Dyche after “drifting a bit” at Everton, according to New York Times football correspondent Rory Smith.
The Ukrainian left-back has made 15 appearances in all competitions so far this season, finding the back of the net twice.
Those goals arrived in back-to-back Premier League matches against Brighton and Crystal Palace at the beginning of last month.
“It is weird to say because of their 10-point deduction but it has been a positive season for Everton,” Smith said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club (18 December). “The results didn’t come quickly; I think that sense of siege mentality has really worked for them.
“What impresses me most about Dyche is his work with individual players. You look at someone like Mykolenko, he looked decent but was drifting a bit. He looks superb. There is a culture war element with Dyche, but he is really good at improving footballers.”
Looking good
Mykolenko is certainly looking good in an Everton shirt this season, with the left-back impressing both defensively and offensively.
But there are not many Toffees players who have let themselves down lately, with the club rapidly climbing the Premier League table after their 10-point deduction earlier in the campaign.
Having dropped from 14th place to 19th place upon the punishment, the Merseyside club are now in 16th place thanks to four successive wins.
Full-back Mykolenko has been crucial to Dyche this season, although the defender did miss out in the recent win against Burnley.
The Everton manager now has several big decisions to make for the upcoming League Cup clash with Fulham, with many first-team stars perhaps needing a rest due to their efforts in recent weeks.
The Cottagers visit Goodison Park on Tuesday (19 December) for the quarter-final encounter under the lights. The Toffees then return to Premier League action very quickly indeed, with a trip to Tottenham coming up on Saturday (23 December).
In other Everton news, a Nottingham Forest ace has sent a message to a Toffees star after what he did against Burnley.