Sean Dyche has called on his Everton stars to lay down a marker and prove fans wrong after a small minority of supporters gave players abuse after the chastening 4-0 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday.
The Toffees have lost both Premier League games this season — also falling to a 3-0 defeat against Brighton — and some fans verbally abused players when boarding a train at London Euston over the weekend.
Striker Neal Maupay, who will be allowed to leave the club this week if a sufficient offer comes in, called out those fans on social media by saying: ‘Imagine another job where it is normalised to get abuse like this. Hanging around at a train station to scream at men who are trying their best.’
And ahead of Tuesday's Carabao Cup second-round match against League Two Doncaster, Dyche said: ‘I say every day's a chance to show us what you can do, whether it’s training or whether it's in a game. Obviously games are more relevant because it's a more visually measurable part of what we do.
‘But even in training, players can learn and lay down markers and they can keep that high level consistency where you think, “They are pushing”. So we want players to do that every day.
Forward Neal Maupay, left, appeared to bite back at the Everton supporters amid the abuse
'But of course, when games come around, show us what you can do, that's what we want, especially with the new players because they have only had a limited time with us.’
New buys Iliman Ndiaye, Jesper Lindstrom and Jake O’Brien are poised to feature in the match and have been given the chance to show Dyche they should be part of the team for Saturday’s match against Bournemouth in the league.
Everton beat Doncaster in South Yorkshire at this stage last season and made the quarter-finals. Dyche added: ‘I do value the cups, I think they are important.
'On the other hand, it is fair to say that we are going to have to use players to get them fit, and fit for task, and the players that have come in and not had as many minutes game-time wise... but we will certainly be putting out a team I think can win.’