Ian Wright suggests one Premier League club were shocked at how good Everton have been

Add as preferred source on Google

Everton have been a team consistently embroiled in relegation battles of late, and as such the perception of them has shifted.

Previously a rock-solid institution who, on their day, could trouble anyone in the division, that reputation has diminished somewhat with their inconsistent form across recent years.

Sean Dyche has done well to somewhat restore some of that fear factor, even if the football played is far from sparkling, adding a defensive rigidity that they had lacked under previous managers.

However, despite this undeniable upturn under his leadership, some continue to underestimate the Toffees.

They do so at their own peril.

Ian Wright thinks Everton will have stunned Premier League rivals

Discussing the relegation battle on The Overlap, released earlier today, both Ian Wright and Roy Keane were in agreement over what these promoted sides continuously fail to do.

After all, last season saw all three teams who came up go straight back down, and similar is expected to happen again this campaign.

The quality of the Premier League is always increasing, and as such the disparity between it and the Championship is growing too.

Wright, who always speaks highly of Everton, thinks these sides underestimate the change in the level of the teams they have to play upon earning promotion.

He theorised: ‘What they underestimate is… Everton will probably go to Ipswich, and Ipswich players who are playing okay, they’re doing alright, especially down there it seems like it’s a really nice raucous kind of atmosphere.

‘And the Everton players go there, experienced players, Ipswich player will be thinking “Oh we’ll see how they are…” and they go there and they think “Jesus Christ, They’re a lot better than I thought.!”’

Always a fair and honest pundit, Wright praised Jordan Pickford in the summer in the face of mounting criticism. However, he also never shies away from delivering home truths either, with Wright slamming four former Everton players earlier this month, who Keane had also called ‘nasty’.

Sean Dyche deserves credit for Everton turnaround

Although their start to the season was abysmal, the manner and speed in which they turned things around has been conversely remarkable.

After all, turning four straight losses into a four-game unbeaten run deserves credit, for identifying tactical and personnel changes and implementing them well.

It’s also worth noting that, had the Toffees managed to hold onto their two 2-0 leads, they would currently be level with Chelsea.

What’s most pleasing about this turnaround is how the backline has been fixed, keeping back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time in what feels like forever.

Credit must go to the Everton manager for masterminding this, but he needs to now find consistency rather than endure another torrid run before pulling this kind of form out of the bag.