Everton: Martin O’Neill moots Sean Dyche ‘problem’ live on talkSPORT in relegation admission
Everton and Sean Dyche’s winless run in the Premier League will be a psychological “problem” in the Goodison Park changing room, according to Martin O’Neill.
The Toffees extended their run without a win in the league to 13 matches with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Tuesday (2 April) rescuing a vital point through Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late penalty.
While O’Neill believes the late equaliser could be a “vital” boost in the Toffees’ push to avoid relegation from the Premier League, he did admit Everton’s recent poor form and an impending point deduction will be putting a strain on the players.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Wednesday (3 April, 10:10) he said: “When you think time is running out for you and you look as though you’ve lost again, then that point could be vital for them.
“It’s nice to travel back to Liverpool with that point on board and every point is vital at the minute. They’ve had the point deduction. Then you go on a decent run and you pull these points around, then you can’t win a game for a decent while and psychologically it is a problem.
“You’ve wrestled a couple of points back again so it’s a six-point deduction but even so you’re thinking to yourself ‘Maybe I need to do something about this’ as a manager to resurrect the situation. It’s hanging over you.”
Will Everton avoid relegation from the Premier League under Sean Dyche?
Pressure is mounting on the Toffees each and every week as this winless run in the league gets longer and longer and something needs to change sooner rather than later to ensure Everton don’t coast into the Championship.
While performances haven’t been terrible and with an extra stroke of luck Dyche’s side may have picked up a couple of wins in the league, the Blues just seem to be lacking confidence every time they step on the field.
Whether that is the result of the psychological blow mooted by O’Neill or the distraction of off-the-field issues at Goodison Park remains to be seen, but it is clear that this current crop of players isn’t full of belief.
Hopefully, Everton will find a way to put an end to this winless run sooner rather than later and ease any potential fears of relegation with a couple of big wins. It won’t take too much to turn the current tide at Goodison.
In other Everton news, Dyche has been left baffled by an “absolutely bizarre” incident in the Toffees’ draw with Newcastle
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