Sean Dyche may have worked wonders during his time with Everton, but he has routinely suffered from the same problem across his two full seasons: a slow start.
After all, during the 2023/24 campaign, despite playing really well, his side lost their opening three Premier League matches, drawing the fourth and losing again in the fifth before finally winning in the sixth.
Eerily, they endured a similar run this term, losing their opening four this time, then drawing, before finally claim a win.
Now whilst things worked out okay last year, frustration has felt far more intense in the last few months as the Everton manager fell for the same old mistakes.
He has now looked back on that woeful run.
Sean Dyche reacts to terrible Everton start
In comments relayed by the Liverpool ECHO, Dyche sought to recall the season thus far, viewing it with relative admiration.
After all, whilst four straight losses is never ideal, he sought to offer vital context to justify such a barren spell.
He claimed: ‘Against Bournemouth we were 10 minutes away from sealing that one off, what happened was a mad 10 minutes that I have never seen in football, not on my watch.
‘You’re a wonder goal away from getting a good point at Villa, and then the story has changed anyway. They are the margins in football that can change the whole viewpoint but if they were now the other way round then everyone would be saying we had had a fantastic start to the season. That’s how fine the lines are… the peaks and troughs of a Premier League season are virtually for everyone apart from the super power clubs.
‘Every season is like that so you can’t go ‘woe is me’ because you’ve lost a few games, whether it is the beginning of the season or the end of the season, you have to go ‘look, this is the challenge in front of me, these are the realities’. You still have to pick out the bits and ask: Were we that bad [during the first four games]? Well not really.’
More patience needed at Everton
Whilst it seems impossible to see it at the time, patience is needed on these occasions.
After all, with the season having only just started and nothing yet to fight for, there is no immediate rush to get results. They are preferred, of course, but as long as performances are strong there is always cause for optimism.
Only when the campaign drags on and relegation remains a threat should panic ensue.
However, this patience must extend beyond just results, especially with Dan Friedkin’s Everton takeover nearing completion.
Many will hope that this American billionaire comes in ready to splash the cash, but in the current Premier League climate, where PSR is always waiting to cause unrest, that will not be possible.
Instead, a clever, sustainable long-term plan must be enacted, which promotes growth from within.
This will not be an overnight process, but hopefully, with patience, it will be a successful one.
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