Burnley manager Sean Dyche has revealed he told his players that Everton have "forgotten how to win" in a brutal half-time team talk during their Premier League match on Wednesday.
Burnley came from behind to beat Everton 3-2 at Turf Moor, to cut the gap to their relegation rivals to just a single point.
Maxwel Cornet scored the winning goal five minutes from time to seal a dramatic comeback for the home side, who were trailing 2-1 at the break.
Advert
Speaking after the match, Dyche says he used his half-time team talk to remind his players of Everton’s fragility this season.
“Sometimes the mentality is hard. I’ve been down there, I know what it’s like. Every season there have been tough patches for us,” Dyche told Sky Sports after the match.
“It’s hard to explain but sometimes you can of sense that a team might have lost how to win a game.
“I said to them at half-time ‘I’m not sure these lot know how to win a game lads’, away from home particularly.
“I said ‘We’ve got to play on that mentality, we do it by playing forward with better quality.’
“It wasn’t glorious but there were enough patches where we found three goals. And I’m pleased with that.”
Burnley had taken the lead early on through Nathan Collins before Richarlison equalised from the penalty spot after Anthony Gordon was fouled in the area.
The Brazilian then scored a second penalty four minutes before the break after a VAR review judged that Vitality Mykolenko had been fouled by former Everton winger Aaron Lennon.
Burnley equalised in the second half through Jay Rodriguez before Cornet capitalised on a mistake from Ben Godfrey to secure all three points for the hosts.
The Clarets remain 18th in the Premier League after the win but are now just a point behind Everton, who have to face Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea in the coming weeks.
Everton have won just two of their nine Premier League games under Frank Lampard, who was disappointed his side could not hold on to their lead.
“At 2-1 we should win the game by more goals,” he told Sky Sports.
“We were not clinical enough with our chances. At that point you always leave the game open. And then we made mistakes for their goals.
“The players have to work and fight to get through this. If it is a lack of confidence, the only way to get through it is to fight and keep working.
“That’s what the players absolutely have to do because we are in a battle. If we didn’t know it before tonight, we know it now.
“We’re still above Burnley in the table, so we have to keep fighting and looking forward. But we’re disappointed not to win tonight from a winning position.”
Topics: Everton, Sean Dyche, Football, Burnley, Premier League
Rory O'Callaghan