Everton fans are getting restless after such a dire start to the season, being forced to watch their side lose four straight Premier League matches in a row.
They are propping up the division, unsurprisingly, with pressure on Sean Dyche’s Everton future mounting too.
However, he is not solely to blame for this miserable run, with the players also letting him down on occasion.
Speaking after their most recent collapse at Aston Villa, Dwight McNeil has now revealed how he and his teammates reacted to their most recent result.
Dwight McNeil reveals Everton players’ reaction to Aston Villa defeat
Chatting with the Liverpool ECHO, McNeil must have cut a particularly frustrated figure given how he once again shone creatively, having a huge hand in his side racing into a 2-0 lead, only to watch it slip away and devolve into defeat.
Scoring the opener with a fine arrowed finish across goal, before then floating in a free kick that Dominic Calvert-Lewin just could not miss, his jubilance melted into misery upon the full-time whistle, confirming their second 3-2 loss in as many Premier League matches.
Alan Shearer speaks during the Premier League Hall of Fame 2024 Inductions event at HERE at Outernet on April 23, 2024 in London, England.
Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images for Premier League
The maestro would reveal how the dressing room reacted, noting: ‘We’ve not had much to say in the dressing room. It would be bad enough for it to have happened twice in a season but twice back-to-back is just not good enough. We all know that as a team. The positive has to be that there’s another game last week and we need to look at it together over where it’s gone wrong and defend better.
‘It was difficult to take. It’s been the same old story the last two games, 2-0 up and conceding three goals.
‘The positives are the goals we scored to go 2-0 up but there are a lot of negatives again because we can’t hold on to the lead. In my opinion they were three sloppy goals.’
Dwight McNeil has been a bright spark this season in a new role
For all the negativity that is swirling around Sean Dyche, whether it be for tactical mistakes, odd personnel choices or strange substitutions, few can deny that this season has seen McNeil shine.
And, that new level of creativity has been unlocked by moving the traditional winger into the midfield, allowing him to drift all over the pitch and press without being restricted to just one flank.
It’s therefore no surprise that the 24-year-old is enjoying one of his most creative starts to the season yet, having scored once and assisted twice whilst averaging 4.3 key passes per game, via Sofascore.
Were he supplying a higher-quality of teammate, he would surely have even more tangible goal contributions, having actually forged five big chances too.
He is pairing this remarkable creative streak with 4.3 ball recoveries per game too, showcasing how his defensive work rate has remained at a supremely high level despite this positional tweak.
Dwight McNeil of Everton (R) celebrates with Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Everton after scoring their 1st goal during the Premier League match between…
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
McNeil has been a bright spark throughout an otherwise dull season, and if the rest of the squad can rise to his level it could still end up being a very profitable campaign for the Toffees.
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