Everton juggling injury nightmare ahead of final day relegation scrap
The equation now is simple. A win, and Everton are safe in the Premier League for another season.
Yet the route to securing that massive victory at a packed, and passionate, Goodison Park this weekend gets more complicated with every minute that ticks down to what is calculated as a £100m relegation showdown.
That is the “unbridgeable” gap calculated between the top flight and the Championship by EFL chairman Rick Parry - and puts into context just what is at stake for the Merseyside club, as they go toe to toe with Leeds and Leicester.
No wonder manager Sean Dyche is left urgently waiting on fitness bulletins as his depleted squad took another injury buffeting last Saturday, even as they took a small step closer to safety.
It is looking increasingly unlikely that Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Nathan Patterson will be available for the game against Bournemouth on Sunday, with the pair suffering hamstring injuries at Wolves.
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Neither trained in the early part of the week as they did rehab, in a desperate attempt to get fit enough to feature in the final game of the season…and what could still be Everton ’s final Premier League game for a while.
For Dyche though, nothing matters more at this stage than the character of his team, not the identity of the players tasked in yet another attempt at a great escape.
The former Burnley boss knows all about the pressure of these situations, and he suggested it is all about mental strength from now on, even if the Blues are down to the walking wounded. “The main thing for me is the mentality,” he said.
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin (R) looks unlikely to recover in time for Sunday's season finale (Getty Images)“I can’t emphasise that enough. We changed the shape three or four times in the second half (at Wolves) and we’re asking a lot of the players to keep changing. They were clear-minded, and they just kept going and going.
“Every time we changed (because of injuries) there were no excuses from the players. They adapted to what was needed and finally got what could be an important point.”
Dyche does have a real defensive headache along with star striker Calvert-Lewin injured, with skipper Seamus Coleman out for the season, while Vitalii Mykolenko has missed the last two games, and Ben Godfrey absent for a month.
It leaves Everton scrambling to make up a defence, with forward Dwight McNeil forced to play at left back last time out, and centre half Michael Keane deployed along the back line before going up front.
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Yet their manager believes it’s down to holding their nerve now, and showing the mentality to get through one final push. “At Wolves, I asked Jimmy Garner to play in four different positions. He took it on without a question.
“Alex (Iwobi) moved into different positions and there’s not even a question. Keano (Michael Keane) goes up front, not a question.
“That’s the mentality you want from, particularly when we’re strapped for players. It’s about mentality and commitment now - it’s within us to take care of ourselves and that’s what we are going to do.”
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