‘Speaking to some players’ - Andros Townsend makes ‘bleak’ Everton admission after Brentford win

Andros Townsend has insisted that Everton’s dressing room remained positive ahead of finally earning their maiden Premier League victory of the season.

The Toffees finally broke their duck in 2023-24 with a 3-1 triumph at Brentford last weekend. Sean Dyche’s side had picked up just one point in their previous six top-flight games before making the trip to west London. That led to fears among sections of supporters that Everton were for a third successive relegation battle, having only narrowly survived in the past two campaigns.

But the visitors were full value for their triumph against Brentford with Abdoulaye Doucoure, James Tarkowski and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Blues are now 15th in the table.

Townsend, who left Everton at the end of June following a two-year spell, revealed that things always remained positive behind the scenes at Goodison Park and the players were confident results would turn.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s The Monday Night Club podcast, the winger said: “I don’t think internally it was ever as bleak as it was made out. Speaking to some players and listening to the manager I think he was really happy with his business in the window. He had one or two players to come back - Dwight McNeil, Jack Harrison is still to come back, Calvert-Lewin.

“They were quietly confident when they got the players back that they would go on a run, they were going to have enough to go to Brentford and get a win. It has been bleak but those players have been quietly confident for a while.

“Being in that dressing room last year and many relegation battles, you always try to find the positives in every performance. One thing you don’t mind is when you create a lot of chances and don’t score them. The real worry is when you’re not creating those chances. You know with the players you’ve got, Beto, Calvert-Lewin, [Arnaut] Danjuma, Dwight McNeil, [Abdoulaye] Doucoure that eventually you’re going to score them.”