Sean Dyche reveals deliberate plan to make Everton v Burnley game as 'awkward' and 'ugly' as possible

The Toffees were without a win in their last 13 league games heading into Saturday’s six-pointer, with their last victory coming against Burnley at Turf Moor back in December.

Dyche managed to complete a double over his former side thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s freak goal during first-half stoppage-time.

It was an otherwise fairly dull game, in which neither side created too many clear-cut opportunities – but it was the hosts who came out on top.

“It’s both an important and welcome result,” Dyche said.

“We looked at the idea of how well we’ve played this season and not won, so we deliberately tried to play long and strong and make the game as awkward and as ugly as possible and get an ugly win, and it worked.

“We wanted to ask them as many questions as possible early on by getting behind them and asking questions of their backline.

“We gave the ball away too cheaply but there’s a nervousness when you’ve been on a run like this and this now stops the storyline. But it’s important we build on that.

“A winning mentality is important and I think it was on show to make sure we found a win.”

Everton’s winning goal came in bizarre circumstances, as Calvert-Lewin’s block from Arijanet Muric’s attempted pass out from the back looped over the Burnley goalkeeper and into the back of his empty net.

“All of a sudden he’s two in two,” Dyche added.

“He’s pressed well and he’s put his foot across the keeper. Sometimes they don’t bounce in, sometimes they do.

“The game should have been killed off but we didn’t and it always makes you wonder. You’re nervous but the facts are the facts, they only had one shot on target which shows we dominated the game. Not with the ball but without the ball.

“Even before our goal, we weren’t far away. We weren’t fluid or anything but we knew that. The biggest thing for me was to believe in what we were doing and I thought they did, they stuck at it and kept asking questions.

“They’ve put a proper shift in to make sure we won.”