Sean Dyche has revealed that he used Newcastle United players' transformations to try and lift his squad following Everton's 4-1 defeat against the Magpies.
Newcastle strengthened their grip on a place in the top four at Goodison Park thanks to a double from Callum Wilson and goals from Joelinton and Jacob Murphy. These goalscorers were already at the club when Eddie Howe took charge of a relegation-threatened side in November, 2021.
Although Newcastle have brought in real quality in the transfer market since then - you only had to look at Alexander Isak's stunning role in Murphy's fourth goal to realise that - that has not been the sole reason behind the club's resurgence. In fact half of the 16 players who featured on Thursday night were individuals Howe inherited. These included Fabian Schar, Sean Longstaff, Joe Willock, Joelinton, Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy, who have hit new heights under the head coach, and Dyche has certainly taken note.
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Having previously seen a 'similar group of players look really tight' at Newcastle, during the course of a number of relegation battles, the Everton boss said they were now 'free rolling' in third as he tries to galvanise his own side in their bid to beat the drop.
"I just gave them a little note there," he told reporters. "There were five or six of their players getting absolutely hammered off their fans a year ago and now they're not.
"They have earned the right and they have done that through hard work, intent, doing the hard yards. I said to the players, 'That's the journey we're on but we have to fast track it very quickly.'"
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