Sean Dyche emphasized that if Everton wishes to have their fans at their most passionate during the Premier League relegation battle, they must provide more reasons for them to be vocal, reports the LiverpoolWorld.
The Toffees were not at their best during their 3-1 defeat to Fulham at Goodison Park on Saturday, and they only remain above the relegation zone due to their superior goal difference. Although Dwight McNeil’s equalizer in the 35th minute gave the fans hope, a lackluster second-half display caused the supporters to start leaving the stadium after Dan James scored Fulham’s third goal, even though there were still 20 minutes remaining on the clock.
Everton has four away games and three home games left in their schedule, and they have only won once on the road throughout the entire season. Dyche recognizes the challenge that the Toffees face in retaining their top-flight status and acknowledges the significance of the fans’ support.
He stated, “One thing is certain, I will not doubt the fans’ commitment because they have been absolutely fantastic since I arrived. Everyone knows that, and as soon as we scored, they got fully behind the team. But it’s a two-way street, as I stated when I joined, ‘We must provide them with something to cheer about, and they will return the favor, or sometimes they will provide the team with energy.'”
“But it’s a dual responsibility. We started a bit edgy, they started a bit edgy, we scored and they erupted and got right on it. After Fulham’s second goal, we didn’t give them enough to go on – you’ve got to give the fans something to go on.
“The away form has been poor for the last two years, I can’t brush that away – that’s the truth. So you’ve got two years of correction and what we’ve been trying to do is correct the mentality of away form and performance level because they’re hand in hand.
“That’s the challenge, it’s been there for two seasons. That’s the correction that we’re looking for. It’s work, it’s constant talking with the players, constant work on the training ground and building that mentality. I must remind you that games like Fulham are hard, there’s no two ways about it, but there have been definite steps forward with that, they’ve been quite obvious, everyone’s been speaking about it.
“There have been strides forward by the players in terms of mentality and taking performances away from home as well but this was a stark reminder you’ve got to be at it all the time and another word I’ve been using all the time is consistency, during a performance, not just every week, during a 90 minutes.”