Iwobi admits Everton were 'not in a good space' before Dyche's arrival
‘We hurt as much as the fans do’: Alex Iwobi admits Everton were ‘not in a good head space’ before Sean Dyche’s arrival, as he stresses the importance of ‘staying consistent’ after the Toffees appeared to turn a corner in their win over Arsenal
- Everton beat league leaders Arsenal in their first match under Sean Dyche
- Midfielder Alex Iwobi stressed the importance of the club’s ‘mindset’
- The Toffees will face a tough test against Merseyside rivals Lvierpool on Monday
Alex Iwobi is under no pressure to make the revelation but he is happy to share. He is laughing about how Sean Dyche’s first day as Everton manager made him feel like he was ‘back at school’ but the point he goes on to make is serious.
In an attempt to get to the bottom of Everton’s troubles, Dyche did two things immediately after succeeding Frank Lampard last month. The first was a bleep test to gauge physical fitness, the second a questionnaire to gauge the squad’s outlook and morale.
Dyche did not ask for names to be written on the papers he handed out, all he wanted was an insight into why a group of talented footballers had lost their way so badly that the spectre of relegation had emerged to haunt them once more.
‘Holding a pen and you are not signing a shirt — that felt weird!’ says Iwobi. ‘But it was good.
‘He wanted to know what we thought as players. You didn’t have to put your name on it and it could be as brutally honest as you wanted. If you wanted to cuss him, you could cuss him but no one did that.
Alex Iwobi has admitted Everton were ‘not in a good head space’ before Sean Dyche’s arrival at the club
The midfielder also revealed that Dyche had the players complete a bleep test and reflect on previous manager Frank Lampard
‘Everyone kept it respectful. We were asked: what do you think of the team? What can we do to help the team go forward? How do you rate your motivation? The team’s motivation?
‘I will reveal my answers. I said the team, of course, wasn’t in a good head space but we all had the same goal. We all want to push up the table.
‘When he looked at the summary, the majority said they wanted the team to push forward. He has to understand his players and I feel he knows what he has got and we know what we have got to do. We are able to do what is required.’
In Dyche’s words, the ‘Big Brother cameras’ are on around Finch Farm, meaning everyone is on their best behaviour after the club’s seventh change of manager in seven years.
There have been no complaints from players about snoods and hats being banned or the intensity of the running that is required in training.
The Toffees picked up an impressive 1-0 win over league leaders Arsenal in their first game under Dyche
They will face struggling Liverpool at Anfield in Monday’s Merseyside derby
Nor should there be. Iwobi, who is now on to his fifth Everton manager, understands better than anyone why a period of stability is required and how much bridge-building needs to be done with fans who have become weary and disenchanted.
Iwobi was disappointed to see Lampard’s reign end — the 44-year-old had a significant role in bringing the Nigerian out of his shell over the last 12 months, as a person and a player — and finds it difficult to explain why Dyche’s arrival brought such a dramatic change against Arsenal.
‘It’s a hard one to say,’ Iwobi ponders, when asked about Everton’s significantly improved running statistics. ‘You can’t really change much in a week. It just comes down to our mindset and knowing that we can do it in games.
‘The win against Arsenal showed it is a mindset thing. We are capable of doing it because now we have done it.
‘We just have to remain consistent which is the hardest bit. It is having that mentality to go into every game like we did against Arsenal.’
So physically drained was the 26-year-old after a 1-0 win that transformed the mood around the club, he spent the night after that match on the sofa ‘unable to move’. As good as the day was, though, another herculean effort will be required to win at Anfield this evening, as Everton did in February 2021.
‘We want fans to understand that we’re annoyed and upset as well,’ says Iwobi. ‘The (public) position we are in, we have to keep a brave face and pretend everything is OK. But we want the club to do well, so we hurt as much as the fans do.
‘We have won at Anfield without fans, now it would be even better to do it with fans. I’m sure we wouldn’t leave the pitch for an hour if we beat them. We’d stay on that pitch and make it ours. We are motivated to get that win.’
LIVERPOOL (probable, 4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Matip, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Bajcetic; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.
EVERTON (probable, 4-5-1): Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Coady, Mykolenko; Iwobi, Doucoure, Gueye, Onana, McNeil; Maupay.
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