There was not a snood or a hat in sight at Finch Farm as Everton’s first team trained in the snow.
Pictures from the training ground showed the players undergoing drills amid a flurry of the white stuff as wintry conditions hit the Halewood centre. And there were good signs among the gallery, Dominic Calvert-Lewin clearly involved in the action as he nears a comeback.
But the images also suggested Sean Dyche was holding firm on his commitment to ensuring players train how they play - so shin pads on and nothing that would not be allowed on a Goodison matchday.
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Dyche was quizzed on his training ground policies upon his appointment as Everton manager and stressed his approach was nothing more than common sense. He said: "Unless I’ve been out of the game for too long, you’re not allowed to wear hats when you play on a Saturday, you’re not allowed to wear snoods when you play on a Saturday and you have to, by the rules, wear shin pads. It is not rocket science.
"Everyone makes the mythical story that it’s hard lines from Sean Dyche. It is just common sense. You train how you play, how can you train how you play if you have 14 snoods on, 15 hats and leggings, no shin pads, white socks, it’s not relevant. I told the players, ‘these myths I’m going to bust them for you right now’.”
Finch Farm was dusted in snow on Thursday, which is when the pictures were taken. Dyche later confirmed Calvert-Lewin was training ‘on the grass’ with the first team and the photographs showed that to be the case. Dyche was unclear on when Calvert-Lewin would return but explained how time was crucial to the 25-year-old’s recovery. Nathan Patterson was also amid the first team action. The defender is yet to play under Dyche but is another player closing in on a return that will boost the new manager’s options.
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