06 February 2023 , 11:04
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The Everton kit man was forced to make a trip to Sports Direct last week after new manager Sean Dyche realised the club did not have enough pairs of socks for training.
Jamie Carragher has described the Toffees as the "worst run club in the country" and the Liverpool legend might have a point after this latest tale was unearthed from their Finch Farm training ground. Yet the incident did not disrupt Everton's preparations too much.
Dyche's new side recorded a shock 1-0 win against Premier League Arsenal during his first game in charge on Saturday afternoon. It is their first league victory since October and they are now level on points with Leeds in 17th, easing their relegation fears.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Dyche has banned snoods and hoods from Everton's training ground. Dyche, who was sacked by Burnley 10 months ago, is viewed as a no-nonsense manager and is said to be maintaining his reputation at Goodison Park.
Dyche has also implemented full-contact training sessions and has asked his underperforming stars to wear shinpads in training. As such, longer - more traditional - socks are required, but Everton did not have enough pairs of these at Finch Farm.
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That forced Everton's kit man to make a dash to Sports Direct - believed to be the nearest sports shop to their training ground - to buy some blue socks. Yet it is said they did not have enough blue pairs in stock and the kit man had to buy black ones instead.
Everton wore long black socks during one of Sean Dyche's first training sessions (Getty Images)Do you think Sean Dyche will keep Everton up? Let us know in the comments below!
Thankfully, Everton did have enough pairs of socks at Goodison Park for their game against Arsenal. James Tarkowski's second-half header was enough to secure the points and get Dyche off to a flying start against the Premier League title favourites.
"It's all about the players and they are the focal point for me," Dyche told BT Sport during his post-match interview. "They have taken a lot on this week. The minimum requirement is maximum effort and we saw that today.
"They have been in a position where it has not been nice for anyone. I still believe we can improve with our play. I'm delighted for James Tarkowski. I've taken great joy in the development of his career.
Everton previously wore short white socks and snoods in training (Getty Images)"It gives us a platform to move forward. We have crammed a lot in this week. To get a win against top of the league... We managed to calm the game down. I want to them to understand the basics of the game."
Everton now have two massive fixtures ahead of them. They face local rivals Liverpool, who were hammered 3-0 at Wolves on Saturday, at Anfield on February 13 before hosting relegation rivals Leeds at Goodison Park five days later.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: "We had loads of the ball but we lacked that purpose and quality in the final third, we generated many chances. But then we conceded and they slowed the game down and we struggled."