sport news Everton's Premier League survival was all about relief rather than celebration trends now

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Through the heaving scene of humanity that flooded onto the pitch, your eye was drawn to one gentleman. He crossed the turf with more of a waddle than a run and didn’t stop until he reached the centre circle: once there, he dropped to his knees, kissed the grass and began to weep.

A day that started with the potential to be the worst in Everton’s history had ended in blessed relief. This gentleman, along with everyone else in the stadium, deserved their release and the pints that were swallowed in the Winslow Pub on Goodison Road were richly-savoured.

Do not, however, make the mistake of considering this a celebration. This, remember, is a club with more league championships than Manchester City, they know football in these parts and for all that they were happy to have seen Bournemouth beaten, this wasn’t a joyous affair.

How could it be? Evertonians have been worn down by the club’s consistently bad decisions over a period of time and, more recently, alienated after being painted as if they were the root of the problems. It was why within five minutes of the final whistle they were chanting “sack the board!”

Something fundamental has got to change at Everton. There needs to be freshness in positions of authority, actions that can enable them to start believing again. It felt significant, then, that Sean Dyche marched into give his post-match debrief and began to deliver home truths.