The dust had just started to settle when the inquest on social media commenced.
Just minutes earlier, Yerry Mina sent Everton supporters across the world wild when he scored a late, late equaliser against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The goal in the 99th minute would go on to be crucial in the Blues’ latest great escape.
But as fans began to gather their thoughts about what they had just witnessed, the focus quickly turned to Sean Dyche. It is safe to say that some were not impressed.
READ MORE: Sean Dyche facing major Everton dilemma after new transfer comments and Conor Coady decision
READ MORE: Abdoulaye Doucoure aims fresh dig at Frank Lampard and hails Sean Dyche Everton decision
Questions started to be asked about Dyche and whether he was the right man to lead the club forward, regardless of what happened at the end of the season. Such is the world we live in; it wasn’t long before a report emerged claiming Everton were sounding out potential replacements.
Dyche, the club’s eighth permanent manager in seven years under Farhad Moshiri, was asked about his future ahead of the final-day shootout against the Cherries. "Good businesses should be succession planning; I have no problem with that," he said. "Everyone should be succession planning. If that was the case, that’s the way it goes, but I certainly wouldn’t be too worried about that."
But while some raised questions about Dyche and the direction in which he could take the club, other supporters opted to look at what the former Burnley chief inherited after succeeding Frank Lampard. When Dyche took over in January, Everton had 15 points from 20 games.
Everton’s bench that afternoon at Molineux also bore an unfamiliar look, and that Dyche inherited such a threadbare, imbalanced squad in January merely highlights just how badly the club has spent the hundreds of millions made available during owner Moshiri’s reign.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Nathan Patterson also suffered hamstring injuries during the first half, which underlined just how deep their team-mates had to dig in, with Michael Keane, Dwight McNeil and James Garner all having to play parts of the game out of position.
But what the draw in the Midlands did do was provide further evidence that Dyche was slowly managing to change his side’s mentality, something he had been keen to do since the minute he walked through the doors at Finch Farm.
And that shift in mentality was on display before, during and after Everton’s nerve-shredding clash against Bournemouth. In the build-up to the game, Dyche was arguably the most relaxed member of the club’s staff.
"If you see the manager, he's walking around singing! He's calm and relaxed. That's just the way he is, and I think that rubs off on us in a good way," defender James Tarkowski revealed a couple of days ahead of the fixture.
On matchday, nothing changed. Dyche remained the calmest man inside Goodison as Everton battled for their Premier League lives.
Even when Leicester City took the lead against West Ham United, Dyche was unmoved.
Even when Abdoulaye Doucoure sent Goodison Park wild with his thunderous winning goal, the Blues boss simply turned his back on the chaos and had a drink of water.
The Everton manager did allow himself a fist pump when Stuart Attwell’s full-time whistle sounded. However, there was no triumphalism, no celebrating on the pitch with the lads, no milking of the fans’ gratitude, and certainly none of that chest-beating nonsense in front of the Gwladys Street.
And what came next gave the best insight yet into how Dyche operates.
First, he made no attempt to sugarcoat Everton’s latest relegation escape. Survival instead afforded him the opportunity to speak with refreshing honesty about the problems he inherited. He did not hold back.
"I never thought this was an easy fix because it is not, far from it," he said. "There is a massive amount of work to be done.
"The thing I’ve learned about Everton is the fans have been amazing; they want the club to be in the top end of the market, but the club currently is not at the top end.
"It’s a big club, make no mistake. Big history, big club, but we are not performing like a big club. We have to find a way of changing that.
"This is two seasons now. I’ve played my little part, but there is a massive amount of change to build to a new dawn, a new future, a bigger future, if you like."
Before he added: "It’s a horrible day for all concerned. There is no joy in it for me other than getting the job done: loads of work, trying to compact so much change into such a relatively short period, particularly with injuries and suspensions, contracts, and all the stuff going on here.
"The underlying bigger news of Everton since I’ve been here has been more or less negative about everything, so that I’ve had to try to change, and that’s been difficult. But the positive side is we got the job done."
You can’t kid Evertonians, and Dyche made no attempt to do so. Honest and to the point is exactly what fans want, and that is what they got last weekend. This is a man who quite simply understands what is required moving forward.
As the fans and Dyche himself made clear afterwards, the time has come for seismic change at Everton, but not in the dugout.
Dyche didn’t just keep Everton up last Sunday; he also won the hearts of Blues supporters. Now he should be backed to ensure lessons have been learned and history doesn't repeat itself.
READ NEXT:
- Leon Osman outlines decisive turning point in Everton relegation battle
- Sean Dyche delivers brutal Everton message after dramatic survival
- Everton FAB statement after no club board members attend quarterly meeting
- Everton youngster continues 18-year tradition as first-team chance nears
- What happened inside tunnel after Everton win confirms Sean Dyche transformation
