Sean Dyche responds to Everton formation question every fan was asking after Wolves loss

Sean Dyche believes Everton's formation change wasn't the reason behind their comprehensive loss against Wolves - and fatigue was the chief factor.

The Toffees suffered a 3-0 defeat by Gary O'Neil's side. The visitors were second best throughout the contest, with Max Kilman opening the scoring for Wolves in the first half before Matheus Cunha and Craig Dawson netted in the second period.

Dyche opted to switch from a four-man defence to a 3-4-3 system at Molineux, but the decision failed to bear fruit.

The game was Everton's eighth fixture throughout December. They were without Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Ashley Young through injury while Amadou Onana, Vitalii Mykolenko, Jarrad Branthwaite, Seamus Coleman and Andre Gomes have missed matches during the month.

And Dyche feels the busy schedule is was the reason behind Everton's lacklustre display. The Blues boss said: "First half, they didn't really create much. We didn't either but had a good chance with Dom. Second half, we're OK until the second goal. When you go 2-0 down in any Premier League game, particularly away from home, it's hard. If you look at the stats, it's a difficult problem to solve. We had to get open, we opened up, had to get after it a bit more and then the price to pay is how open you are the other end.

"We didn't capitalise on their chances, they did on their third and they had other chances after that. We put a side out that could win and has played in that formation before and done very well. It's easy football after the event - before is the key.

"It's not raw, there's a reality of what we do. I know the stats and facts before the game, I'll know tomorrow. It's not a lack of effort. When the effort is mixed with focus, lots of games, it goes against you. It was wearing towards the end of the Man City game, I was wondering if they could go again today with the intensity we want from them and, in the end, we couldn't against a side who were good and had more on the energy front."