It was two years ago that Sean Dyche,, then the Burnley manager, infamously said it appeared that Everton had forgotten how to win.
Dyche, now the Everton manager, has reasonable grounds to make that accusation again.
As admirable as the mid-week draw collected at Newcastle United was for Dyche’s team, it was not enough to halt their barren sequence of 13 games without a victory. This is now the longest winless streak in the club’s Premier League history and their worst in the top flight since 1957.
It is a run of form that is proving difficult to overturn; and with the prospect of a second points deduction this season for failing to abide by Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), this weekend’s home game against Burnley is huge in an attempt to stem the bleeding.
It was at Turf Moor in December that Everton last tasted victory in the league and although Everton are four points above the relegation zone in 16th place — with a game in hand on their rivals too — there is an acknowledgement that should this slump extend much further, relegation fears will only intensify.
Burnley already look set for an immediate return to the Championship as Vincent Kompany’s side are six points from safety, but they do come to Goodison Park on the back of their best run of results this season. They will be the form team having gone four matches unbeaten.
Still, the pressure will be on Everton to perform and secure a morale-boosting win. Dyche wants his players to forget their situation and play with both confidence and freedom as that, in his eyes, would enable the best chance of a triumph.
“It’s an inner thing. It comes from resilience, knowledge, and from know-how and from professionalism,” the Everton manager said. “We don’t lack any of that so the group should be confident.
“It’s more the freedom that comes from confidence. When you’re confident you feel like you can make those decisions quicker.”
Along with a valuable point, another positive to come from St James’ Park on Tuesday evening was Dominic Calvert-Lewin finally breaking his goalscoring duck by converting a late penalty.
Any way to victory will do Everton now
Dyche said it was “brave” of his striker, who came on as a substitute, to step forward and take the 88th-minute spot-kick having gone 23 games without finding the back of the net. “We hope that is the catalyst that takes the noise away and changes the storyline,” added Dyche.
Scoring any which way possible will do for Everton currently. During their winless run they have scored nine goals and are the second-lowest for goals notched in the division, behind basement team Sheffield United.
“You have to find goals,” said Dyche, who has rotated between Calvert-Lewin and Beto in recent weeks. “Everyone wants to score perfect goals and beautiful goals, of course, but what about ugly goals and set-pieces?
“It is about how many different ways you can operate to find goals and force goals. We force a lot of chances, but we haven’t always forced the finish.
“So we will take goals wherever they come at the moment, as we always would. But, yet again, you want to design them if you can.”
Burnley’s visit represents the first of four home games remaining for Everton against other sides in the bottom six and so returning Goodison Park — where they have won only three league games this term — to somewhat of a fortress for the final few weeks is seen as paramount to their survival hopes.
“The fortress that it can become is tremendous at times,” Dyche said. “It’s just we’ve had too many get away from us this season.” It would be an apt time to show that Everton have not forgotten how to win.