12 February 2023 , 22:30
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There have already been unusual punishments and snood bans, kit men sent out for long socks, questionnaires…and lots and lots of running.
But Alex Iwobi couldn’t be happier under Sean Dyche at Everton - just so long as he doesn’t have to dance!
The quiet midfielder has found his home, and his voice, at Goodison in the past 12 months, and his performance against his old club Arsenal in the new Blues manager’s first game in charge suggested a new found belief and confidence too.
When Dyche arrived as a closing transfer window delivered no new signings, he instead asked his players what they felt would get Everton out of trouble. The answers showed a team with desire and passion still, Iwobi explained.
“I filled it in, I haven’t done that since I was at school. Holding a pen and you are not signing a shirt - that felt weird! But it was good. You could be as brutally honest as you wanted. You could cuss him if you wanted!” he said.
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“Nobody did that. There was respect - I will reveal my answers now, I said the team of course wasn’t in a good headspace but we all had that same goal to push up the table. The majority has the desire to push the team forward, all of us want to go forward and improve. That is the main idea.”
That may come as a surprise to Everton fans who have been protesting against their club, and criticising the lack of desire in a team which had slumped into the bottom three before Dyche arrived.
Yet the fight and passion - typified by Iwobi’s driving display - against Arsenal suggested a different story, and the Nigeria international was revealing in a message to the supporters before the derby showdown with Liverpool on Monday.
Alex Iwobi is loving life under the new Everton boss“Of course we understand (the anger of the fans). I want fans to understand that of course they’re annoyed, but we’re also annoyed and upset as well.
“We can’t showcase it in the same way - we have to stand up and go again. Show we are positive. That is what players have to do, pretend everything is ok. But us as players we want the club to do well, so we’ll hurt as much as the fans are.
“We see it in the faces of the fans and it’s not nice as we’re going through the same things as them. But we can’t come out and express that anger. We did it behind closed doors instead - the manager gave us that platform and we said exactly what we feel.”
That brutally honest platform allowed Dyche to address certain issues and produce the win over Arsenal, which strangely perhaps makes Everton favourites going into the derby, with Liverpool struggling.
The Toffees picked up a stunning victory over Arsenal last time out (AFP via Getty Images)But it has been all bleep tests, running and snood bans in training, as Iwobi revealed with a smile. “The manager has helped me a lot tactically. And his attention to detail - he doesn’t miss anything. “I put my hands in my sleeves as a comfort thing, and he’s ‘hands out of sleeves!” On to everything, I enjoy it. I love a snood in training, I cannot lie, but you have to change really quick or he’s on to you.
“There have been a few things so far…dance battles! There was a round robin of games with three teams and the losing team had to dance in front of everyone. I’m not taking any part in that - I can’t dance! Ok, I’m alright, y’know, but I’d rather not!”
To escape relegation, Iwobi believes Everton must now show the same desire as the Arsenal game, and Dyche will bring that. “It is a mindset thing. It is having that mentality to go into every game like we did against Arsenal.
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“Maybe that wasn’t the same 13 games ago. We have to produce it consistently now. That’s what the manager wants - start with hard work, selfless running, selfless things for the team. And we’ve all bought into it.”