'It’s not a fight scene' - Inside story Sean Dyche's training ground transformation at Everton

“It is not a fight scene, we are trying to get to a stage where we can win together.” That is the ambition at Finch Farm and there is a growing sense the Everton dressing room is moving towards that goal.

For Sean Dyche the key to achieving that, a fundamental step towards creating a stronger squad, is empowering the players and giving them confidence in their relationships with him and his staff.

“They are learning here that they can share their views and do it in a way that we both respect what the truth is”, the Blues boss explained. This is a process he believes is growing in strength - and recent results back up that hope.

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On Dyche’s first day in January his new players were handed questionnaires to fill in. Away from the bleep tests designed to assess their fitness, aside from the banning of snoods and hats to improve professionalism, there were the sheets of paper handed to members of the first team squad. Upon it were a handful of simple questions presented in order to offer those on the frontline the chance to provide their thoughts on why the club had slumped to a devastating run of form that had ended the tenure of Frank Lampard and which left the Blues fanbase staring at another relegation battle.

Part of this move was to engage the players in their own story. Another part was to allow them to shape the response Dyche would seek to engineer. Urging his players to take ownership of their roles has been at the heart of what Dyche has attempted to do at Everton. There is an understanding he can only build a solid foundation for progress with players who are willing