Sean Dyche said he placed his trust in his Everton players and asked them what needed to be done at half-time against Arsenal.
The Blues were the better side in the opening 45 minutes but entered the break with the game still goalless despite good opportunities for Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure. Failing to build on first-half displays has been a common problem since the World Cup break, with Everton conceding damaging goals against Southampton, Manchester United and Brighton in the first 10 minutes after the restart.
Asked how he ensured his players built on their promising start, Dyche said he sought their feedback - and made clear to them they were owed nothing for simply having begun the match well.
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Of his first half-time team talk as Everton boss, Dyche said: "I asked them what they were thinking - they are out there. I trust players, I said what is your feedback - how are you thinking, how are you feeling?
"Not always - sometimes it is my guidance - but I thought there has been a lot of work this week and they have observed a lot, trust me. We have condensed five weeks of planning and pre-season and meetings and framework and how we work into five days, and they have done brilliant to absorb all that. So I asked them what they thought in case there was any confusion in how we were trying to get the game to play out.
"A couple of things came up, we corrected a couple of things. But mainly it was that you don't get anything for one half. That was the biggest message. It was a strong half but you don't get anything for that. Nothing. So the second half has to be, as soon as the whistle blows, we are on it."
A deserved win came after Everton did just that and continued to play with intensity. The winner came when James Tarkowski headed in a Dwight McNeil corner - two players who were under Dyche at Burnley combining in his first game as a Blue. It was only Everton's second set-piece goal in the league this season and Dyche made clear he wanted to see more.
He said: "We believe in our set-piece setup. I think it is a valuable weapon for the team to use and it was a great delivery and a great header. I thought we were causing problems with that today generally, when we did have corners. There are certain fundamentals I believe in and things that have to be in place in teams. It is nothing to do with ex-managers and coaches, I have total respect for every manager and coach... I just try and imprint my thoughts and my style and my belief in how the team should operate but the ownership is the main thing and the players, certainly today anyway, they have taken ownership and I have told them after the game that it is a starting point. A win was important, how quickly we get it, a clean sheet is fantastic but I said 'lads, it is a starting point - come in Monday because you will be working' - and they will be working on Monday."
Dyche felt the 1-0 win over Arsenal was reward for the hard work and effort of his first week in charge, He added: "I wanted a performance. I thought the players had put a lot of honesty into the week, a lot of respect in the changes we have tried to make but I said to them it is actions, that is the key. And I thought you could clearly see there was a response."
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