Sean Dyche praises Everton players' resilience amidst Premier League drought

The Toffees head to Old Trafford on Saturday to face Manchester United with the relegation zone still uncomfortably close despite the reduction of their points deduction from 10 to six.

An initial surge after the penalty is now a distant memory, while the threat of further punishment for breaching financial rules hangs over the club.

Manager Dyche said: "I couldn't be more proud of the players here. From what they've been through over the past few seasons.

"When I got here it was just constant negativity everywhere. They managed to somewhat change that, then we get 10 points taken away, then they went, ˜Right, let's get on with it', got on with it again, then we get six points taken away and four given back, still getting on with it, still working hard in training, still working hard for the badge, the shirt, myself, the club.

"People can go under in these circumstances. Our group here just continually work properly on the training ground, work properly for each other, take the games on. That's the mentality we want, through thick and thin, that's the right mentality for this football club in my opinion."

Scoring goals has been Everton's biggest Achilles heel, with the Toffees the third lowest scorers in the Premier League.

It has also been a difficult season for Manchester United but Everton have won at Old Trafford just once in the last 30 years, and Dyche said: "They're still a good outfit, they've still got some very strong players, we know that. So there are certainly no gimmes at Old Trafford.

"When I got here there was a load of noise about a lot of things but especially the away form. We've somewhat corrected that - still work to be done - and that's kind of softened down the home form.

"I think the level of performance overall has been pretty decent. Finding the moments that make those decent performances into wins, that's the trickiest part and that's the most important part."

The postponement of next week's Merseyside derby, with Liverpool in FA Cup action, and the subsequent international break means Everton will not play a match for three weeks after this weekend.

Dyche will take his players to Europe for a few days for a change of scene, and he said: "We don't need refreshing or revitalising, the performances are there.

"It's just the fact you've got three weeks without a game. It's hard coming in every day with no game at the end of it. It's finding a way of changing things to keep them sharp, to keep the mentality that we've already got."