Sean Dyche wants Everton players to work ‘hard and smart’ in relegation battle

Sean Dyche is hoping his Everton side will find the right balance in their crunch clash with fellow strugglers Leeds at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The Toffees go into the match in the bottom three, one place and one point below their manager less opponents, who are without a win in the Premier League since early November.

It will be Dyche’s third match in charge after a dream start with victory over Arsenal and a more sobering 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on Monday.

He said: “Over the two games – of course the derby is a different importance, I’m well aware of that – taking three points, I think most people would go, ‘OK, that’s a reasonable start’.

“Two performances, similar in one way, against two good sides. Not that much in it, not as much as people were suggesting. We didn’t create as much against Liverpool – it’s hard creating really good opportunities away from home. I thought we did create enough against Arsenal.

“So finding that balance of making the team tight but also having enough freedom to go and operate and play forwards and affect the opposition.

“That’s what we’ve been talking about with the players moving into the next game – not just being solid and working hard, which is of course a real prerequisite of mine, but working smart and opening the game up.”

Dyche played down the idea that the game is of particular importance because of Leeds’ proximity in the table, saying: “The Premier League is a very, very unforgiving part of football, every game’s important.

“People could have written off the Arsenal game but we go and win. That’s a very important three points. My focus is on the next game regardless of who it is.

“We’re learning about the players, we’re pushing them hard, we’re