Sean Dyche enjoyed a standing ovation on his return to Burnley before his in-form Everton side silenced Turf Moor with a 2-0 win which increases the Clarets’ relegation worries at the foot of the Premier League table.

Dyche was back at the ground where he spent the best part of 10 years in charge, twice earning promotion and keeping Burnley in the top flight against the odds before being sacked in April 2022 towards the end of their last, ultimately unsuccessful, battle against the drop.

His Everton side are not that far from the current relegation fight but only as a result of a 10-point penalty for breaching financial rules, and first-half goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane made it four straight wins. They may sit 16th, but would be ninth without the penalty.

Keane’s 25th minute goal was his first of the season on his first appearance since October 21. Alongside him was Ben Godfrey, making his first league start of the season in a side hastily reshuffled following late withdrawals.

“I was delighted,” Dyche said. “We’re a side pieced together yesterday morning. We lost Myko (Vitaliy Mykolenko) with a tight groin and because we’ve got injuries and suspensions we can’t risk players so we had to change everything in a morning.

“Their acceptance to go and deliver a performance that can win was very pleasing.”

While Vincent Kompany used his programme notes to welcome Dyche back to Turf Moor, it was notable that the man who sacked him, chairman Alan Pace, did not mention Dyche in his own. But Dyche said he had no issues with his old boss, and he was grateful for the reception he got.

“I saw Alan Pace this morning, in the hotel where we were staying, and said hello,” said Dyche. “Football is a weird business, I didn’t throw my dummy out, I’ve done my bit, done my years at Burnley and I shook his hand and said have a nice season, crack on.

“I met Vinny at the end of last season and told him how impressed I was with his work. Said how he hadn’t lost the fabric of it but changed it to his own liking. We can all moan about everyone and everything but people have a lot on their plate. I just try and take care of mine and get on with it.”

For Burnley it was another damaging defeat that leaves them off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone, with only eight points from 17 games.

Kompany’s side played well before falling behind and improved in the second half but rarely threatened Jordan Pickford’s goal.

“We’ve been done on two set plays,” Kompany said. “There’s not too much to say about the overall defending and attacking play. It was more about both boxes today.”

The big positive for Burnley was the return of Lyle Foster, who was back among the substitutes after a period away dealing with mental health issues, and started the second half for his first appearance since October.

“It was a surprise to us,” Kompany said. “We hadn’t expected that he would be able to return but it was the opinion of the experts that keeping him in his natural environment, football is part of his life, is something he needs to do to be happy.

“Forty-five minutes was roughly what he was able to do physically and the second half showed how much of an impact he can have. But it’s important to say this is part of his process of getting back.”

Sean Dyche deepened the relegation worries of his old club Burnley as his return to Turf Moor ended in a 2-0 win for Everton.

Dyche, who twice guided the Clarets to promotion and kept them up against the odds during a decade at the club, promised to show no sentimentality 20 months after his sacking amid their last, unsuccessful, battle against the drop, and first-half goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane silenced Turf Moor.

They proved all Everton needed as they won four league games in a row for the first time in three years, their eighth league win of the season already matching last year’s tally as they continue to climb away from trouble. Without their 10-point penalty, Everton would be up to ninth.

Burnley chairman Alan Pace, the man who sacked Dyche in April 2022, failed to welcome Dyche back in his programme notes but the one-time ‘Ginger Mourinho’ is still loved in Burnley, where the Royal Dyche pub proudly bares his name, and he emerged from the tunnel to a standing ovation from all sides.

Vincent Kompany, who brought Burnley back to the Premier League with a 101-point campaign in the Championship, has rebuilt the club in a different image. Having taken four points from their last three games to match the return from the previous 13, Burnley started well, keeping Everton pegged back.

But the results they desperately need are not there to match, and although Dwight McNeil, one of three former Burnley players in the Everton 11, spurned a glorious chance Everton needed only 19 minutes to take the lead.

James Trafford did well to keep out Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s close-range header but Burnley failed to defend the resulting corner and it was all too easy for Onana to get away from Josh Brownhill and power in at the far post.

Jacob Bruun Larsen and Jay Rodriguez both saw shots blocked in the Everton box, and six minutes later it was 2-0 to the visitors.

Jordan Pickford hit a long free-kick forward and James Tarkowski headed it down for another former Claret, Keane, to try his luck from range. Trafford parried, but the ball struck Dara O’Shea and fell kindly for Keane, in for the suspended Jarrad Branthwaite, to sweep home his first goal of the season.

Burnley’s early promise dissipated in a silent Turf Moor. They did threaten again just before half-time but Ben Godfrey, making only his second Premier League appearance of the season, got a vital toe to Vitinho’s cross before Zeki Amdouni.

At half-time Kompany turned to Lyle Foster, the South Africa forward surprisingly named among the substitutes after a recent absence to deal with mental health issues. The 23-year-old replaced Rodriguez to make his first appearance since October 21.

Burnley were better after the break, but only managed to create half-chances. Sander Berge had an early shot blocked before Foster failed to get enough power on his effort.

After Trafford failed to clear a corner and Keane had a close-range shot blocked on the line, Amdouni offered a more direct threat at the other end when he eyed up Pickford’s far post from 25 yards out, forcing the England goalkeeper to stretch and push it wide.

Berge rattled the crossbar in the 79th minute, though his shot from the edge of the box would not have counted with the flag up.

It was that old familiar story for Burnley, who dominated possession and had 14 shots at goal but ended the day empty-handed, stuck on eight points from 17 games and off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone. Boos greeted the final whistle.

Everton boss Sean Dyche hailed the togetherness of his side after they beat Newcastle 3-0 to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone.

Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Beto scored in the final 11 minutes as the Toffees took the spoils at a raucous Goodison Park.

Dyche has emphasised the importance of team spirit since the club were hit by a 10-point deduction last month and he believes that was evident in their display.

Dyche said: “The performance level at home has been pleasing all season but you have got win games and you have got to score goals.

“We did that well. I thought it was another good performance, particularly first half against a good outfit.

“I have spoken about the mentality and I think you could sense there is a connected group. Everyone knew what they were doing, they just said, ‘Let’s get on it, let’s go out and play’.

“That’s when you know you are onto something. It doesn’t guarantee anything but I think we’re on to something.”

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe – who played down a post-match scuffle involving Joelinton, Anthony Gordon, James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford as “just emotions” – was left to rue a missed opportunity to close the gap to the top four.

“The game was there for us to win in the second half after an even first half,” he said. “I don’t think we played particularly well.

“I thought we had them penned in and then conceded the first goal and that changed the momentum. It was a frustrating evening, a missed opportunity.

“It’s a difficult one for us to understand. Last year our away form was very good, we were free-scoring. This year haven’t got going on the road, apart from the Sheffield United game (an 8-0 victory).”

Howe refused to point the finger at Kieran Trippier after his mistakes presented Everton with their opening two goals.

“Kieran has been absolutely magnificent since he signed, the catalyst for a lot that happened. Collectively we were off our best.”

Howe has had to deal with a number of injuries this season – he has 12 players currently unavailable – but was not prepared to blame fatigue.

“I am in a difficult position to agree because if I do what is there to stop that happening again and again?” he said.

“There are reasons behind every performance. We have struggled to change our plans and have the attacking options we want. You can potentially do it for a short period of time but the longer it goes the harder it gets.”

Everton used the desire to right the perceived wrong against them to inflict Newcastle’s heaviest defeat of the season as a 3-0 victory in front of an equally fired-up Goodison Park moved the Toffees out of the relegation zone again.

With an appeal pending on the 10-point deduction for breach of financial regulations, manager Sean Dyche has said they have to continue to deliver on the pitch and they duly did with a rousing display against the top-four contenders.

Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and substitute Beto all scored late on, making the most of another superb performance from centre-backs James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite, as Newcastle’s miserable away form extended to one win in the last nine games.

Without the deduction Everton would currently be 10th – just six points behind the visitors – rather than seven places worse off but this was the sort of performance which gives more power to the argument Dyche’s side will be just fine whether the deduction is reduced or not.

Newcastle’s England right-back Kieran Trippier had an evening to forget as his two errors, getting caught in possession by McNeil for the crucial first and hitting a clearance into Jack Harrison for the second, proved costly while former Toffee Anthony Gordon, booed throughout, played the final few moments with the taunts of the crowd ringing around the old ground.

McNeil’s goal, via a helpful deflection of Fabian Schar, was Everton’s 18th shot of game which looked like promising much but ultimately delivering little, as has been the case at Goodison Park this season, with this being only their second home league win in eight attempts.

Doucoure and then Beto, with his first Premier League goal deep into added time, kicked off wild celebrations – and late scuffles on the pitch after the final whistle.

A change in Everton’s formation with captain Seamus Coleman making his first appearance since a knee injury in April, saw Ashley Young moved into midfield with Jack Harrison in the hole behind the returning Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Doucoure dropping into a deeper role due to James Garner’s illness.

However, there was no change to the pattern of home games this season as the hosts struggled to find the breakthrough.

McNeil rolled a shot wide of the post but Calvert-Lewin was the main protagonist and also chief culprit as, after forcing Martin Dubravka into a 20th-minute save from Harrison’s through-ball, he amazingly missed from five yards.

The England international controlled Branthwaite’s lobbed pass on his chest, swivelled but blazed a left-foot shot into the Park End, who earlier had continued the fans’ protests against the points deduction by holding up green cards declaring ‘Protecting the few, not the many’.

Newcastle were not much better with a weak Miguel Almiron shot and Alexander Isak header wide from close range the best they could offer.

Gordon had the chance to ratchet up the contempt with which he was held when gifted a chance to beat Jordan Pickford on the hour by Branthwaite’s mis-control but he shot straight at the England number one.

And Goodison sarcastically jeered when Gordon, now playing centrally, blazed over from an Isak counter-attack but the noise was even louder when McNeil finally made one of their chances count.

When Doucoure and Beto made the game safe the joy was unbridled but the niggly nature of the game meant was still time after the final whistle for a minor scuffle involving, among others Pickford, Joelinton and Gordon, while Schar left the pitch seemingly looking like he wanted to pick a fight with anyone who made eye contact.

Sean Dyche said Everton’s 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest has given the club and their fans a big lift after they were docked 10 points for breaching Premier League financial rules.

Dwight McNeil struck the only goal in the second half at the City Ground, slamming home his first of the season following Jack Harrison’s far-post cross.

It sealed Everton victory in their second match since being handed the punishment and a day after they submitted their formal appeal against the severity of it.

Dyche said: “We spoke to the players. They were very open about it. They all agreed they were ready to take it on and they have done so far.

“So to get that first win after that news is very pleasing. It blows belief into the fans, into the group, into the players because they still have to look at the league table at some point.

“We still have to wait and see what the appeal will bring, so in the meantime we’ve got to get on with business like we are doing.”

Everton’s third win in five league games lifted them to within two points of safety, having started the evening kick-off in bottom place after Burnley’s win against Sheffield United.

“People are suggesting it’s a good time to get 10 points taken,” Dyche added.

“Well if they are, I tell you what, I’ll do a deal. I’ll have their 10 points, they can have the ones we got taken off us and we’ll see where we all end up.

“I don’t think it’s quite as simple as that, but the key for us is to not really worry about all the different conjecture, all the stories, all the noise and stay focused on the bit we can control and that’s our performances.”

Forest have slipped to three straight league defeats and back-to-back home losses to crank up the pressure on boss Steve Cooper.

His side have won just one of their last 10 league games, but they struck a post through substitute Felipe’s second-half effort and created several other chances.

Cooper said: “The one real chance they’ve had, he’s taken it really well. The ones we’ve had, we’ve not shown enough of the quality you need at this level to score goals.”

Cooper felt his side had a good case for a penalty when Ryan Yates went down under Abdoulaye Doucoure’s challenge from the corner which led to Felipe’s effort.

He added: “The other real talking point is the difference in decision-making over penalties, with Doucoure on Yates compared to the one which was given against us last week.

“I won’t hide behind the decision with the result – just like I didn’t last week – but if last week was a penalty, then it has to be one today.

“We’ve had two very experienced referees in the last two games and they couldn’t be any further away from being consistent in those moments.”

Everton fans have staged a protest outside the Premier League’s headquarters in London in response to the club’s 10-point punishment for breaching financial regulations.

The Toffees were handed the sanction by an independent commission last week after they exceeded losses permitted under the league’s profitability and sustainability rules by £19.5million in the three seasons ending in 2021-22.

Manager Sean Dyche expressed shock at the “disproportionate” penalty on Friday, a sentiment shared by the fans who gathered outside the Premier League’s offices in Paddington, west London.

Paul, 36, who lives in East Dulwich but is originally from St Helens, is a season-ticket holder who will be at Sunday’s game against Manchester United.

He told the PA news agency that the points deduction “felt draconian”, adding: “It just feels like the rules were deliberately vague to give flexibility for this kind of situation.

“I think Everton have been deliberately targeted because of the threat of an independent regulator, and that feels wrong.”

Alan Newton, 46, who lives in London but is originally from Maghull, held a season ticket for 10 years.

He told PA: “Nobody’s saying that we’re not guilty as a club of anything, but the points that have been taken off is far too harsh a penalty.

“Do I think that some of the other bigger clubs are going to get penalties like this or it’s going to play out the same? Probably not.

“I think the likelihood is we’ll get a reduced penalty, it’ll set a precedent for other clubs and we’ll see what happens next.”

The points deduction has left Everton 19th in the table and above bottom side Burnley only on goal difference.

However, Amy Panayi, 28, who lives in Gravesend but is originally from Liverpool, does not believe the club will be relegated.

“If we just get consistency with your teams like Manchester City and Chelsea, I will take a 10-point deduction,” she told PA. “I will say I don’t think we will go down, because there’s too much fight (and) heart there.”

Everton boss Sean Dyche has expressed shock at the “disproportionate” 10-point penalty imposed on the club but insisted he and his players are ready to take on the latest challenge put in front of them.

Dyche was trying to enjoy a short break during the international window when he got word of the unprecedented sanction handed down by an independent commission for breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules – a penalty that Everton will appeal against.

Speaking publicly for the first time on the matter, Dyche said: “I think like everyone, certainly in these parts, I was shocked and seemingly from the wave of noise after that, most people in football are shocked by the enormity of it.

“Disproportionate is a word used by the club. Obviously we feel a bit aggrieved by that, but on the other hand it doesn’t change the focus. The focus since I got there is sorting things out on the pitch, getting the team to win.

“I think we were on the right lines, delivering strong performances. This has just given us a push backwards to come forwards again. The job hasn’t changed. It’s just made it more difficult under the current circumstances until the appeal…

“I don’t know every inch of the past, I don’t know why the commission have come out with what they have but I certainly believe in what the club put forward. It feels disproportionate, it feels unjust and plenty of voices out there feel the same.

“What is done is done for now, appeal pending, and we have to get on with it.”

Everton fans have hit out at the penalty, and have raised more than £40,000 to fund protests against the Premier League. A demonstration was due to take in London on Friday outside the league offices, while a plane carrying a banner will fly over Manchester City’s match against Liverpool on Saturday.

On Sunday, when Everton’s game against United will be televised, home fans will be asked to hold up red cards which call the Premier League “corrupt”.

Everton had been showing encouraging signs before the penalty, winning six out of nine in all competitions to climb up the table, but have now dropped to second bottom – level on four points with basement boys Burnley ahead of Sunday’s match against Manchester United.

“I spoke to the group and said, ‘Look, the league table is one thing but I don’t change my story very often and I believe the final league table is the truth of the season, and I’m not going to change now’,” Dyche added.

“For sure, it changes the viewpoint but it doesn’t change what we’re doing. In fact it enhances what we’re doing. We need to go harder, stronger. This is what it is. It’s been about refocus as much as anything.”

The penalty has raised all manner of questions at Everton, with suggestions that rival clubs may now pursue compensation claims potentially impacting the proposed takeover by 777 Partners.

On the pitch, there was a sense of optimism that after two seasons fighting relegation things were looking up but – for now at least – they are back in the bottom three.

Dyche said that did not concern him in the immediate term, but there was clear frustration from the boss that off-pitch dramas are once again dominating the agenda at Goodison Park.

“You have to take away the noise,” he said. “I’ve had to do it endlessly since I’ve been here, keep pushing away the noise around this football club.

“Bizarrely, we were talking about it before – the last press conference before (Crystal) Palace was one of the first ones that was just about football. And lo and behold while I was away we get a 10-point deficit. So what do you do? You just keep taking it on.”

Sean Dyche praised Everton’s improved mentality away from home after he watched his side beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park to make it back-to-back Premier League victories on the road.

Twice in south London Everton surrendered their lead but neither time were they deterred and they finally nicked it with a goal from Idrissa Gueye four minutes from the end.

Dyche, whose side beat West Ham at the London Stadium on their last Premier League away day, said he saw clear signs that his players are forging a mentality to win consistently away from Goodison Park.

“Obviously topsy-turvy,” said Dyche. “We started so well, with a fantastic goal. They responded with a moment we should have dealt with earlier. They get a soft penalty from our point of view.

“Then really it was a strange game after that. I don’t think anyone really gripped the first half, and second half (Palace) did. I thought they were very good. I think we had to work very hard.

“I think the mentality I’m trying to work with the players on is the belief in finding different ways of winning games, and I think we’re showing that.

“We had to do it last week against Brighton, so nearly won but got a good point. Then coming (to Palace) today.

“Away form here was a big question mark when got here. We’re beginning to change the mentality towards these games. That was on show today.”

Vitalii Mykolenko headed in Jack Harrison’s cross after only 55 seconds but Eberechi Eze, on his first start since returning from a hamstring injury, levelled from the penalty spot four minutes later.

Abdoulaye Doucoure restored Everton’s lead minutes after the break, but again Palace fought back to level when Odsonne Edouard capitalised on James Tarkowski’s error to score.

The hosts could not hold on to a point, though, as Gueye struck late to win it after latching on to Doucoure’s excellent through-ball.

Mykolenko, who had a hand in Doucoure’s goal, put in one of his best performances in an Everton shirt and Dyche said he felt the Ukrainian’s progression encapsulated his side’s improved approach in recent weeks.

“He’s beginning to mature into himself really as a player and in his Everton career,” he said. “I think he can defend, he’s beginning to show that he can go forwards, he wants to get into the right areas.

“It’s a fantastic header and he’s nearly got a brace with a lovely strike, a controlled effort at goal.”

Palace boss Roy Hodgson reflected on a match that ultimately slipped away from his side despite a gallant effort to twice recover from falling behind.

“I’m sad, I’m frustrated,” he said. “Early goals in each half, we had to come from behind twice.

“We had to work very hard to come from behind twice and put in a very good effort. We had a lot of the ball and worked hard to create those chances.

“To then concede a third goal and lose the game, that’s hard to take.”

Everton beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park as Idrissa Gueye’s goal four minutes from time capped a superb away performance from Sean Dyche’s team.

Palace twice came from behind, with Eberechi Eze’s penalty quickly cancelling out Vitalii Mykolenko’s early opener and Odsonne Edouard capitalising on a howler from James Tarkowski to level up after Abdoulaye Doucoure’s goal.

But they had no answer a third time after Gueye kept his cool to seal victory and propel his side to consecutive away wins.

It all came after an electric start. Palace failed to clear their lines as Mykolenko’s shot was blocked, and as the ball broke wide on the right the Ukrainian found space inside the box and climbed highest to nod Jack Harrison’s cross past Sam Johnstone after just 55 seconds.

Palace fans may have been stunned but their team quickly hit back.

Within three minutes they were level, and it was Eze, back in the side after a hamstring injury, who danced into Everton’s box and drew a foul from Jarrad Branthwaite.

VAR checked and saw no reason to overturn referee Sam Barrott’s penalty award, leaving the Eze the task of calmly rolling the ball past Jordan Pickford.

Selhurst Park howled for a second spot-kick when Eze again went down under apparent pressure inside the box. This time the referee deemed the forward had dived, and rather than a penalty, a yellow card was Eze’s reward.

Edouard forced Pickford into a save low to his right in added time at the end of the half in what was a rare instance of attacking threat from the home team.

Everton had won three of their previous six in the league, and after the frustration of failing to hold on to their early lead they began the second half in similarly urgent fashion.

A corner from the visitors’ right was cleared only to the edge of the box, where Amadou Onana scooped the ball square to Mykolenko. For the second time in the game he was given too much time to line up an effort on goal, and as his volley cannoned back off a post there was Doucoure unmarked to tap home.

The advantage looked fragile. On the hour mark, Mykolenko and Gueye almost produced a comical own-goal, getting in one another’s way as Jeffrey Schlupp’s cross dropped into the box and they required Pickford’s fingertips to keep them from bundling the ball over their own goal line.

Edouard was growing as a threat and with 25 minutes to go he handed Jefferson Lerma a golden chance to level, coming inside from the left of the box and cutting the ball back, only for Lerma, free on the edge of the box, to fire wide.

Michael Oliseh came off the bench for his first appearance of the season and drew a roar of anticipation from around Selhurst Park with a shot from 20 yards that deflected narrowly over.

Palace were by now dominant, and their second equaliser came courtesy of a defensive calamity. A high, headed ball into the box looked an easy mop-up job for Tarkowski, but rather than nod it clear he left the ball for his goalkeeper, and in stole Edouard to tap home.

Still Palace could not hold on to their point, and Everton roared back at them once more with four minutes to go, this time decisively.

Doucoure received the ball in midfield and looked up to see Gueye racing through the centre. Doucoure’s pass was weighted expertly and Gueye needed barely to break stride as he evaded Tyrick Mitchell’s lunging challenge and guided it beyond Johnstone.

Everton manager Sean Dyche wants his players to develop a physical and mental resilience so they are happy playing three times a week.

The Toffees boss made just two changes for the comfortable 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over his former side Burnley – who made seven – to set up a quarter-final meeting with Fulham.

Dyche’s school of thought is if his side are playing more it means they are involved in more competitions for longer and that is the route to success.

“It’s always tempting (to make changes),” he said after goals from James Tarkowski, Amadou Onana and Ashley Young – his first for the club – saw off the Clarets without much fuss.

“The challenge you have got is if you want to go and be really super-successful you will play a lot of football so I want the players to realise they can play three games a week, that they can have the mentality and take these games on.

“The support systems have never been greater so I don’t think it’s a lot to ask players to play three in a week.

“At the end of the day I want the mentality to be ‘I want to play every game’. It’s not finished but it’s building.”

Momentum is also building after a fifth win in seven matches as Everton gave their late chairman Bill Kenwright the send-off he would have wanted.

Goodison Park rose as one to mark his death last week at the age of 78 and the team ensured the occasion was marked in fitting fashion.

“It’s work in progress but there is progress. When you start winning people start to believe a bit more,” Dyche added.

“I think the players are beginning to believe more and more. Five in seven is a good marker. The players deserve it, they are working very hard on the training pitch.”

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany insists his side are still trying to adapt to life at elite level despite blowing away the Championship last season to book an immediate return to the top flight.

“I have never mastered the art of feeling good after a defeat. The first half was good but mistakes cost us at this level,” he said.

“You don’t accept it, absolutely not. But you put it into context because it could make your head crazy.

“Is it a bad performance? No. The worrying thing would be if you didn’t have belief in the squad but that’s not the case. These are steps we have to make.

“You go through such a huge gap between the Championship and Premier League. It is not an excuse but motivation to get better.

“When you get promoted it is not supposed to be easy. You are on a journey. That is part of what we are experiencing now.”

Everton paid tribute to Bill Kenwright as his long-term partner Jenny Seagrove, daughter Lucy and former Toffees striker and manager Joe Royle laid wreaths before the Carabao Cup match with Burnley.

As the trio walked to the centre-circle before kick-off at Goodison Park, Elton John’s ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’ was played and a minute’s applause was held for Kenwright, who was chairman for almost two decades and died last week at the age of 78.

A blue and white scarf was also placed on his seat in the directors’ box, where he had not sat since January due to security issues after a number of fan protests.

Owner Farhad Moshiri – making his first appearance at Goodison Park in more than two years – led the tributes in the matchday programme, saying: “Bill was a force of nature and he certainly changed my life nearly 10 years ago when he first spoke to me about getting involved with the club.

“The new Everton stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will provide an iconic new home for the club and will stand as a lasting legacy to his memory.

“I will miss no longer hearing his voice on the end of a telephone many times each day, talking about players, plotting how the club can do better and better.

“He was a special soul, a man successful in so many different walks of life. We will miss him but never forget him.”

Manager Sean Dyche said Kenwright was a “perfect gentleman and an incredibly passionate individual whose love for Everton was infectious”.

Captain Seamus Coleman said he could not thank ‘The Chairman’ – as he always called him – enough for his personal support when he made the move from Sligo to Goodison Park as a 20-year-old.

He said: “The chairman knew that my family would be concerned about me and he assured them time and time again I would be looked after.”

A number of former managers appointed under Kenwright’s chairmanship also shared their tributes with Roberto Martinez hailing “a contagious force who lived and breathed Everton”.

David Moyes said: “He gave me a big opportunity in my career when I was a young manager in the lower leagues. He was a wonderful man, brilliantly supportive. I couldn’t have had a better chairman as a young coach.”

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said Kenwright was “Everton to the core”, Fulham manager Marco Silva described him as a “great man and a great Evertonian”, while Frank Lampard said he was a “man with a huge personality and even bigger heart”.

Former players also sent their condolences, with Wayne Rooney thanking him personally for his support over the years and adding: “No-one loved the club more.”

Ex-midfielder Tim Cahill said he would “make sure your spirit will live in our football club forever”.

Everton manager Sean Dyche has paid tribute to Bill Kenwright, who died on Monday at the age of 78, calling the late chairman “an amazing servant” to the club.

On Wednesday morning, Dyche and club captain Seamus Coleman laid flowers at the statue of Dixie Dean outside Goodison Park, where the Everton squad were holding a training session.

All players and staff observed a minute’s silence before the session and Kenwright’s image was shown on the stadium’s screens.

Everton announced on Tuesday that Kenwright had died following a battle with cancer.

In a statement on the club website, Dyche said: “His influence in bringing me to Everton in the first place was important and I have nothing but gratitude and respect for his unwavering support of myself, the staff and our players.

“It was a pleasure to share the moment of reaching our objective last season with him – a moment I know he felt so strongly about after such an arduous season, on and off the pitch…

“He was an incredible professional, in terms of what he did with Everton and also what he achieved in the theatre industry. Spending time with him and learning about his family, you couldn’t help but be taken by his passion.”

Dyche was told of the news midway through Tuesday’s training and called an immediate halt to the session as players and staff paid their respects.

Kenwright, who succeeded Sir Phillip Carter as chairman in 2004 after first joining the board at Goodison Park in 1989, had a cancerous tumour removed from his liver in August.

Liverpool-born Kenwright was a successful theatre and film producer when asked to join the Everton board in 1989.

He bought a majority 68 per cent stake in the club in 1999 and became deputy chairman before replacing Carter in his current role.

Dyche added: “Beyond his deep love of his family, one of those big passions, of course, was football – the game as a whole, as well as his obvious lasting love of Everton football club.

“His story – a boyhood supporter who went on to become chairman – is something so rare in the modern game, especially at the top level.

“He always believed in Everton and stood by the club, even in the toughest times. He was steadfast until the very end.

“Like so many who knew him, my heart and my thoughts are with his family at this extremely sad time.”

Everton boss Sean Dyche and captain Seamus Coleman have paid tribute to chairman Bill Kenwright.

The pair laid flowers at the Dixie Dean statue outside Goodison Park on Tuesday morning.

Kenwright died at the age of 78 following a battle with cancer, the club announced on Monday.

Kenwright, who succeeded Sir Phillip Carter as chairman in 2004 after first joining the board at Goodison Park in 1989, had a cancerous tumour removed from his liver in August.

Liverpool-born Kenwright was a successful theatre and film producer when asked to join the Everton board in 1989.

He bought a majority 68 per cent stake in the club in 1999 and became deputy chairman before replacing Carter in his current role.

Sean Dyche has been compelled to deliver “the truth” about Demarai Gray after the winger claimed the Everton manager does not respect him.

Gray has not played this season, with Dyche claiming the player did not want to train after being linked with moves to Saudi Arabia and Fulham.

However, nothing materialised before Friday’s European deadline – Saudi’s is Thursday – but after being left out of the squad again for the 2-2 draw at Sheffield United, Gray took to Instagram to air his grievance, writing: “It’s so difficult to play for someone who doesn’t show you respect as a person.”

Dyche has now taken the unusual step of addressing the issue in an interview with club media.

“It’s an unfortunate one because I try to keep our business in-house. I think on this occasion, it’s right to reply,” Dyche said.

“Demarai made it clear that he felt he was getting a move (away from Everton) and he told us a move was done, which was interesting to hear from a player.

“We reminded him of the truth of the fact that no moves are done without this club’s say so.

“We look after these players; we look at all the different ways of looking after them: mental and wellbeing is big, the tactics and technical, the physical.

“When it comes to a time like that then you go, ‘Well, hang on a minute. You made it clear you didn’t want to train, you didn’t want to be here, and you also said there was a move that was a done deal’.

“We said it’s not a done deal because this club is the most important. This club will make decisions on the future of you as players and not the other way around.

“I think it’s right to let our fans know that’s the truth.”

Sean Dyche praised debutant Beto after he came off the bench to inspire an Everton turnaround and prevent an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to League Two’s bottom side Doncaster.

After losing their first three Premier League matches without scoring, the Toffees were staring down the barrel of a humiliating defeat in South Yorkshire.

Doncaster dominated the first half and took a deserved lead through a flicked header by Joe Ironside, who avoided an offside call and sparked wild scenes at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Everton held on and belatedly showed their quality, with half-time substitute Beto levelling intelligently a day after signing, before Arnaut Danjuma wrapped up a 2-1 second-round win.

“Fair play to Doncaster, they took it on in the right way,” boss Dyche said after the Toffees earned a third-round trip to Aston Villa.

“They know that there’s no pressure on them – a free hit at us and all the noise and all the rest of it and they used it wisely.

“We weren’t at the races first half but I must say the goal is three yards offside. I would expect that to be given (offside) but it didn’t.

“It’s a big learning curve for some of the younger players because that’s what it’s like to play for Everton Football Club.

“A lot of expectation regardless, no-one cares about injuries and stretched squads. I say it because I mean it and it’s true, but no one really cares, so that’s a big part of their development.

“It can’t always be rosy, it’s tough and they’re young and they’re learning.

“Second half we put more experienced players on who played very well, I thought, and made a big difference to the performance.

“I don’t think it was as good a performance as the weekend (in the loss to Wolves) but you win a game and that was important.”

Everton return to South Yorkshire on Saturday lunchtime to face Sheffield United, where towering striker Beto will surely lead the line after his man-of-the-match display.

“He’s only got here yesterday, so it’s a lot to ask, really,” Dyche said of the big-money signing from Udinese.

“We only got his clearance this morning, so we’d already set the team up. I had it in my mind to put him on at half-time regardless.

“He’s adapted very quickly, done very well tonight. With all due respect, the Premier League is different, but he’s shown the rawness, the pace and the effect that he can have on a team.

“It gives us something different, which is what we brought him here for.”

Doncaster boss Grant McCann was aggrieved his side did not get a penalty for a Vitaliy Mykolenko handball but his overriding emotion was pride after Rovers pushed Everton close.

“I’m pleased, proud of the boys’ performance,” the League Two strugglers’ manager said. “The levels were good against a top-class team.

“I thought particularly first half we were excellent in terms of what we did.

“The second half was difficult with the changes they made, they seemed to get a lot, lot stronger.

“I think we can see over the last couple of games that we’re definitely improving and we’re only going to get stronger.”