Sean Dyche has suggested too much pressure has been placed on Dominic Calvert-Lewin to recover quickly from injuries, after the striker started for the first time since February in Everton’s draw with Crystal Palace.
The stalemate at Selhurst Park saw Dyche’s side sink back into the Premier League’s bottom three, and with only 24 goals they are the lowest scorers in the division.
Calvert-Lewin, who went closest for Everton when he collected Alex Iwobi’s pass midway through the second half with a clever touch and spin and fired inches wide, has started only 12 times this season in the league due to persistent injury.
His last outing had come during the 1-0 win against Arsenal in Dyche’s first game in charge, but a recurrence of a hamstring problem meant he has been unable to assist since in the team’s battle to beat the drop.
He was limited to only 17 starts last term when Everton were also threatened with relegation under Rafael Benitez and later Frank Lampard.
Manager Dyche said that, under his stewardship, the club have sought to give the 26-year-old more time to recover than he might have been afforded in the past.
“You can only control the controllables – that’s what I look to do,” Dyche said. “When we got in (in February), his stats were nowhere near where they should have been in the past, his physical stats.
“He was on his way back to those levels and then pulled his hamstring against Arsenal, so we had to give him that down period to get recovered.
“We tried to get him back on top of the stats but then he had another niggle so that sets you back.
“The progress previously has been, ‘Get him fit, put him back in the team’. Well you can’t keep doing that because it hasn’t worked. Therefore give the lad a chance, so my idea was to get him ‘fit’ fit.
“He’s put a lot of kilometres on the clock, a lot of sprint distance, a lot of high-speed running, to reaffirm to him that he’s strong and that he’s fit. It still doesn’t guarantee it – it’s a human body.
“The one game he had for us before his injury was against Arsenal. I thought he was excellent that day. His sharpness was coming back, so he will get sharper.”
Everton now face an uphill struggle to cling to their top-flight status and avoid falling into the second tier for the first time since 1954.
They have spent only four seasons outside of the top division since the Football League was founded in 1888, but with six games to play will need to find additional firepower to effect what looks an increasingly difficult escape act.
Much expectation has been dropped at Calvert-Lewin’s door in the hope that he can add to the single goal he has scored so far during another injury-hit season.
Dyche was eager for supporters and the striker’s team-mates to recognise that responsibility for goals lies across the whole squad.
“I think it’s been happening (the team struggling to score) for quite a while,” Dyche said.
“I haven’t got magic dust. We can work on a process, on an idea and a way of working that we think can create more. But the players eventually take ownership of that.
“It’s not just about one player, though. Dom’s a very good player, but it’s about other players doing that as well.
“I think the fans are building their hopes around what the media tell them. The media have been constantly asking about Dominic since I got here. That’s one of those things of life – that’s your job.
“So the fans get involved with that, more so because they know he’s a good player.
“I don’t think it’s relevant whether you’re saying he should be playing or he’s not playing or he’s fit or he’s not fit. They recognise he’s a very good player.
“It would be helpful if I’m not asked about it any more because that means he is fit. Why would you not ask? There’s no blame attached. I’m just sharing a view.”
