Dwight McNeil lifts lid on pre-season meeting that helped sparked Everton revival

Dwight McNeil has revealed a constructive pre-season meeting involving players and staff helped spark Everton’s revival.

The Blues have narrowly escaped relegation in the last two campaigns, doing so against a backdrop of unrest off the pitch. Only a second-half strike from Abdoulaye Doucoure prevented the Goodison Park club from dropping into the Sky Bet Championship on the final day of last season.

However, Dyche’s side, after a slow start to the season that saw them go five league games without a win, have now won five of their last seven matches in all competitions. They also set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Fulham with a 3-0 win over Burnley on Wednesday night.

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And reflecting on Everton's upturn in form, McNeil has revealed his side aired their collective expectations in a meeting ahead of the start of the season and agreed on the things they required from each other in order to achieve more than just fighting to avoid relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.

He said: “We had a discussion and we all came together and we all said that we want the same thing.

“It is all good saying it, but now we have got to do it. It is all about doing it out on the pitch, and it is down to us to do it. We want to build a good story at the club."

Asked about the meeting, McNeil elaborated: “It was a discussion with everyone. Players and staff about what we want as a collective mindset so everyone knows what is required.

“That is what we want. We want the best for each other. We want the best for ourselves; we want the best for the club and the fans. We want to do as well as