- Everton’s third goal against Newcastle was a joy to watch after 30-pass move
- James Tarkowski hailed the spirit and togetherness of the Toffees after win
- IAN LADYMAN reveals the GREATEST weapon a manager has against a journalist – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
Everton defender James Tarkowski has invited football fans to ‘come watch us play’ after the Toffees climbed out of the relegation zone in beating Newcastle on Thursday night – but would be 10th without their points deduction.
Sean Dyche’s team are going under the radar for playing lovely football – Beto’s third goal against Newcastle coming after a 30-pass sequence – and Everton have lost just two of the last nine games, those defeats coming to Liverpool and Manchester United.
Tarkowksi has epitomised everything good about Everton this season, making a league-high 22 blocks this season, with the team now showing they are willing to fight for results for their manager. They are demonstrating a togetherness rarely seen in these parts in recent years.
And Tarkowski, who has captained the side all season until Seamus Coleman returned on Thursday, said: ‘It sounds daft but the league table is just there for now to show teams where they’re at. We know where we’re at as a team.
‘Just come watch us play! It’s not irrelevant but it’s not at the forefront of our minds. That’s how we perform and pick up results. That’s what we’re doing now so we’ll concentrate on that rather than the league table.
James Tarkowski (right) is revelling in the way Everton are playing under Sean Dyche
The Toffees scored after a brilliant 30-pass sequence in the 3-0 win over Newcastle
‘The spirit and togetherness of the team is right on the gaffer’s list of important things to work on.
Beyond the tactics, that’s the most important thing for him and us. We’ve worked on that as a team and you can see that on the pitch, how we are playing and how we are together.
‘It’s a gradual process. It’s not like it’s one meeting and we all have a big open conversation.
‘Things do happen like that from time to time but it’s more how you treat each other and train together every day. That spirit is on show for everyone to see.’
The togetherness will be crucial to Everton this season who, despite a fine record are still just one point out of the bottom three due to their sporting sanction for breaching Premier League financial rules.
Everton are running an average of 113.8km as a team in games this season – more than 4km more than last year’s average, with the fitness and workrate of the team clear to see and fans buying into it.
Dyche waxed lyrical about his team’s effort against Newcastle and said: ‘The pressing in the second half… (Ashley) Youngy runs his rear off and the crowd were on their feet.. I am trying to understand the underbelly of this club and build a future.’
Beto’s effort capped a brilliant night for the Toffees as they exited the relegation zone
The manager also praised the work-rate of Dwight McNeil, who has scored in the last two games, and said: ‘The simplicity of reminding him what he is good at. I think he is a very good player. I said you have to go and play with a smile. He is getting his rewards.’
Everton now host Chelsea on Sunday having won more points this season than Mauricio Pochettino’s big-spenders. They are expecting midfielder James Garner to return after a sickness bug, while Amadou Onana is hoping to return to the squad at least after a calf injury.
Dyche added: ‘It certainly helps when the standards are high in the training ground. We are a big club and our fans are going to be right up for it (against Chelsea). We will certainly be coming back to Goodison in good shape.’
