Sean Dyche says Everton star Abdoulaye Doucoure has been 'excellent' lately
Everton boss Sean Dyche says that Abdoulaye Doucoure has been absolutely brilliant over the past few weeks.
The Toffees picked up a huge win over Brentford on Saturday thanks to a stunning finish from Dwight McNeil.
Dyche has been handed a difficult run of fixtures since taking over at Goodison Park, facing the likes of Arsenal twice, Liverpool at Anfield and what was an in-form Brentford side.
The Englishman has lifted Everton out of the relegation zone though and managed to pick up 10 points from his opening seven games.
And Dyche feels that Doucoure has really stepped up in recent weeks, labelling his performances as ‘excellent’.
Dyche praises ‘excellent’ Doucoure form
Speaking to Everton TV, Dyche reflected on a brilliant win over Brentford and singled out Doucoure for praise.
“It was a fine goal. We pressed early. Great calmness from Douc [Doucoure], who was excellent again,” he said.
“It was Alex [Iwobi] into Douc and Douc finding Dwight, and then what a finish. You need that sometimes. The pleasing thing over the last number of games is that we’ve been more effective.
“We’re going into the box with more of an edge to score a goal. We didn’t score again after the first, of course, but we’re creating more.
“We’re asking more questions of the opposition and I think that’s pleasing.”
Doucoure has started in every single Premier League game under Dyche so far and he seems to be flourishing.
The 30-year-old has struggled with persistent injuries since making the £20 million switch to Goodison Park. But he will be hoping to stay off the sidelines as he bids to help Everton stay in the Premier League.
Everton’s fixtures are certainly not going to get any easier over the next few weeks as they are set to face Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United.
Everton will be relying on the likes of Doucoure to continue his brilliant form going into these fixtures as they aim to keep themselves out of the relegation zone.
