Kevin Campbell makes Everton relegation claim live on Sky Sports

Sean Dyche was praised by Kevin Campbell for working on the “minds” of Everton players during the 10-point deduction that he believes would have relegated the Toffees in past seasons.

Everton received the contentious punishment for violating the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations, which the club has challenged.

Former Everton striker, speaking to Sky Sports on Tuesday (12 December, 10:22am), feels the club would not have recovered from the deduction as quickly in previous seasons, as a three-game winning streak has lifted them four points clear of the relegation zone.

“I think he’s had to go in there and win the minds over, because 10 points is a lot of points, if you look at where Everton were in the last couple of seasons and you take 10 points off them they’ll have got relegated, 100 per cent they’ll have got relegated,” he added.

“I know it was earlier in the season, but he had to work on the minds, get the players together, and get them moving in the right direction.”

Without a doubt

Everton would have been relegated if this punishment had been imposed in the previous two seasons, despite the team narrowly surviving the drop in both of the previous campaigns.

The timing of the penalty, on the other hand, appears to have had a true galvanizing impact on the team, with three fantastic wins enabling Everton climb out of the relegation zone.

There is a genuine sense of solidarity among the squad, who are fighting for everything, and this has been replicated among the fantastic Toffees crowd, who are invigorated and giving all from the stands to support their club.

Of course, there are numerous off-field issues that cast a shadow over the club, and there are other concerns to address. But, at least on the field, there has been a reversal, and credit should go to Dyche and the players for that; Campbell is completely correct.

In other Everton news, live on talkSPORT, James Tarkowski made a new Jarrad Branthwaite prediction.