Everton are not used to topping any league tables given their faltering form in recent years, with most fans content with merely retaining their top-flight status now.
It has been a trying couple of seasons for Evertonians, who have seen their expectations regress violently under the increasing weight of their poor run.
Now just craving some semblance of stability, after the heart-wrenching and fear-inducing campaigns they have recently suffered, it seems Sean Dyche has finally found the key to achieving such a goal, given how they have settled into this Premier League season.
Sitting five points clear of the relegation zone after 11 games, and finally starting to score some goals after a profligate first few games of the term, things are looking up for a side so often lambasted for their weak mentality.
Much of their resurgence is owed to the 52-year-old tactician, however, the main positive he has brought to Goodison Park is simply a return to the basics.
He has his team running hard again, and fighting in a way the fanbase can get behind. They scrap for every second ball, and battle for every aerial. As such, they have actually started to pick up regular points, winning five and drawing one of their last eight in all competitions.
Sky Sports sought to detail such impressive running figures, actually highlighting Abdoulaye Doucoure as their key asset in that area.
How good is Abdoulaye Doucoure?
Outlining the Mali international’s presses, he actually sits atop the table for the entire Premier League, with the report noting: ‘Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure leads the way for pressures this term with a staggering 488 to date – that’s 66 clear of runner-up and renowned workhorse Jordan Ayew – who signed a new deal at Palace this month.’
This even saw him steer far clear of the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Declan Rice too, as a couple more well-documented hard workers. It is therefore no surprise that he has already been branded a ‘symbol‘ of the revolution happening at Goodison Park.
What makes the 30-year-old particularly important for Everton is that he has blended such imperious work ethic with a goalscoring prowess that arguably kept them in the division last term.
After all, his five goals and two assists came at crucial junctures in the campaign, with his brace and Brighton and Hove Albion helping them pull off the shock result of the year, before his final-day screamer handed them the three points needed to secure survival.
Already having found the net three times again this term, and it promises to be a standout year for the £20m maestro who continues to prove himself as an integral cog in Dyche’s tireless setup.
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