Sean Dyche says that the work continues as he, his staff and his players try to find solutions to Everton’s inability to score goals and win matches this season.

On Saturday against 10-man Brentford, the Blues huffed and puffed through 90-plus fruitless minutes with just five shots on target and were held to a third goalless draw in six matches.

It extended their recent run to just one defeat in eight matches but with an average return of less than a point a game so far, it’s not enough to keep the club away from the danger of being sucked into the bottom three, particularly with a daunting run of fixtures to come in December.

In uncharacteristic fashion, Dyche experimented with the positioning of Dwight McNeil and Iliman Ndiaye in the second half against the Bees and then went with two up top when Beto was brought on to partner Dominic Calvert-Lewin but his side still couldn’t make the breakthrough.

“There was lots of effort, lots of shots and stuff, but there were not really killer moments,” Dyche said in his post-match press conference. “I think it's been something I've talked about endlessly since I've been in the club, and before I've been at the club.

“It has been a reality for a long time here. Developing people who score goals is the toughest challenge as a manager. So, if you can’t develop individuals you want to try to develop a team that can score goals.

“The challenge we have had this season is quite obvious to everyone. We were conceding far too many and we had to change that. So we've changed that and now you've got to stay effective in the offensive side. So we scored a bit more freely at the beginning of the season, but we were conceding too many. So that's been the challenge, quite obviously.

“[Scoring goals has] been a longstanding thing here. So, you know, how we find that … most managers do that by chequebook. We can't do that. So, therefore, the development continues. That is what we're looking to do, remind players of their skillset, on their strengths and working towards them.

Though Dyche managed to amass 48 points last season and achieve a 12th-place finish without the Premier League’s points deductions applied, Everton have struggled to put a sequence of wins together this term.

As matches against Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City loom between now and the end of the year, supporters are increasingly concerned about another protracted battle to stave off relegation.

“Supporters have been concerned ever since I walked in the door,” Dyche explained. “They were concerned before I walked in the door and they have been concerned when I've been here. I've been talking endlessly about us trying to change the story. We haven't done that. We have had spells when we have done it, and then we have dropped away.

“And even this spell, one loss in eight. But it doesn't mean anything because we are not winning and I don't shy away from that. You want to win, I want to play winning football. And we're not winning as many as we should be winning, in my opinion. So the work just continues.

"It's searching. That's what we managers do — search for the right moments that can win you game and make you more effective."

With the takeover by The Friedkin Group still on track to be completed by the end of the year, it is the understanding of Sky's Alan Myers that Dyche's position is not under threat despite discontent among the fanbase.

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