Sean Dyche insists the job is not done for Everton despite the club’s 2-0 win over relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.
Goals from Idrissa Gana Gueye and Dwight McNeil earned Everton a precious three points at Goodison Park, in a tense clash that saw Forest have three penalty appeals turned down.
Forest have since taken to social media to protest against the officiating, though Dyche was keen to focus on the performance from his team.
After a dismal 6-0 defeat at Chelsea on Monday night, the Everton boss was delighted to see his team bounce back and take an ‘important step’ towards safety. The Toffees move five points clear of 18th-placed Luton, with a game in hand.
“The noise changes very quickly because of the result on Monday – and rightly so because it’s a really poor performance. I hold my hands up, the team hold their hands up,” Dyche reflected to evertontv.
“We spoke as a group on how we could affect it, and then you win two out of three. We’ve kept two clean sheets out of three games – two home games as well, and it’s that weird predicament that this club’s been in for a long time. The highs, lows, ups, downs.
“We should be on 38 points, by the way, and mathematically safe. That shows progress with five to go. We’re not [mathematically safe] but we just took another important step forward. There’s still work to be done and I’ve never gotten away from that.
“Each step that we make is only a step and there are lots more steps to make this season.”
On the support from a vocal home crowd, Dyche added: “They ask for the truth, and I said in the week that I gave them the truth. All I can ask is the truth of them back. They supplied that today, so we have to keep going. We have to keep working really hard to keep changing the narrative.
“There are going to be knocks, but all we can do is give everything we’ve got and give our best – and also with quality, as well, which was on show with two quality and really important goals today. But also, the fight and the willingness to make sure we look after the shirt and the fans, and I’m pleased for that.”
