'I've already told them' - Sean Dyche sets Everton challenge for intense training camp

Sean Dyche has told his Everton squad they will be made to work hard during a mid-season European training camp.

The club has organised a trip for the players following the postponement of the Merseyside derby, which was scheduled for a week on Sunday but now needs to be rearranged due to Liverpool’s FA Cup commitments. A new date has not yet been set.

Dyche said the trip had been pieced together at short notice following Liverpool’s FA Cup win over Southampton last week and that it would offer his players a change of scenery at the start of what will be a three-week period without a game.

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The trip will take place next week, meaning Dyche has the opportunity to take all of his players before some leave his group for the international break that ends the month. Dyche confirmed the plans during his pre-Manchester United press conference at Finch Farm on Thursday but remained tight-lipped on the destination. No friendlies are currently booked in for the trip and that prospect remains unlikely - particularly with many teams having domestic commitments before the fortnight halt to the calendar for international action.

But Dyche has left his squad under no illusion that they will be pushed while away. He said: “I have already told the players they will be training really hard.” He added: “It is just [about] the balance of a three-week period without a game. It is a long time to fill, three weeks… How can you keep the feel, the sharpness, the energy, the performance levels, the commitment to the cause? How can you keep the players