Sean Dyche believes a run in the Carabao Cup is the perfect chance for his Everton side to change the story at the club.
The Blues set up a quarter-final tie against Fulham with a 3-0 victory over Burnley on Wednesday night. James Tarkowski headed in the opener after 13 minutes against his former club.
Dyche’s side doubled their lead eight minutes into the second-half when Amadou Onana bundled the ball home after Tarkowski headed Dwight McNeil’s corner into this path. Ashley Young then completed the scoring in the closing stages.
And asked if a cup run brings hope and optimism, Dyche replied: “We’ve got to change the story here – we know it’s not changed yet, but it’s just beginning to show signs of that little shift forwards, and if you add in the cup, then ok, (I’ll say to the players) ‘look, you’ve got yourself here, so let’s see if we can take in the next one.
“That is just another form of progress, but it still comes down to the mentality we want. I want that mentality in pre-season; I want it in every single game, no matter what it is, no matter who is out there – I want it consistently across the squad, a squad mentality. Wherever we put the shirt on, we are going hard.
“That is what I am trying to promote the idea of: no matter what the game is, we are on it. And it’s starting to get there.”
It is the first time that Dyche has managed to reach the last eight of a cup competition as a manager. He also made just two changes to the side that beat West Ham United at the weekend, while Burnley made seven for the game.
Speaking about reaching a quarter-final for the first time as a manager, Dyche said: “It’s one of those weird things about cup football; there is like an imaginary view about cup games is that you (managers) don’t want to win it. Of course you want to win it!
“But the reality of the business of football is that the Premier League is so, so powerful against the cup competitions. It doesn’t mean you don’t care about them – I grew up with the FA Cup being like, ‘win the FA Cup, play for England’ (as the football dream).
“Probably the FA was deemed weirdly stronger than the league… when you’re a kid, I mean. When you get older, start playing professionally, and realise what it takes to win a league, then you understand why winning the league is more important.
“It is not that there’s any other view than the cups are important, it’s just that the Premier League is just so powerful – it’s financially powerful, the kudos, the feel to the fans and players, so yes, we want to do well in the cups, yes, we want to win this cup, but we want to be in the Premier League, so that’s the balance.
“And it’s tricky. If you’ve got a massive squad, then you can probably balance it. If you’re Man City you need a massive squad because you are playing so many games. (But for us) it’s picking a team that can win.
“I thought it was relevant against Burnley to pick the team I did, because the players are in a good place, so we thought to keep the good place going. Earlier on in the competition, we changed things around.
“I changed it against Villa, but this time, I thought this team looks to me now that they are bonded, so therefore keep it bonded. Forget having to win, this is where it’s growing right in front of my eyes – that is what I feel.”
A number of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, are already out of this season’s League Cup, but Dyche believes his side will have to perform if they are to win the competition.
He said: “There’s still no divine right just because some of the big guns go out, you go, ‘ah, there we go, crack on!’. That is cup football, so delivery is still really important.”
