Greg O'Keeffe has claimed Dwight McNeil looked like a player transformed under new Everton boss Sean Dyche last weekend.

The Lowdown: Dyche making an impact

Not many would have given Everton much hope of getting a positive result on Saturday against Arsenal - never mind a win - but Dyche managed to work his magic and got a tune out of a group of players that had been underperforming under Frank Lampard.

Prior to Everton's win on Saturday, they hadn't won in 2023 and had only won three games in the Premier League all season, but Dyche appears to be getting a lot more out of players in ways Lampard couldn't.

This includes McNeil, who will know Dyche very well having worked with him at Burnley and been the manager that moulded him into the player that demanded a £20m transfer from Burnley to the Toffees.

The Latest: McNeil transformed under Dyche

O'Keeffe kept special praise for Everton ace McNeil for his display against the Gunners as he assisted the winning goal to cap a fine performance this past weekend.

Speaking on the All Together Now podcast, he said: "He'll have players that he recognises and knows and obviously already got a huge rising from Tarkowski; McNeil appeared almost transformed and so on and so forth."

The Verdict: Everton have to build on this momentum

Having quite a few players that he already knows will be a huge boost and likely something that attracted Dyche to the Everton job despite their perilous position in the league, as those individuals will know what he's like and help him understand the squad much more.

Especially given that players such as James Tarkowski and McNeil had been playing regularly under Lampard and therefore hardly fringe players, this will have further played into Dyche’s hands.

While this weekend's Merseyside derby at Anfield will likely be a very difficult test, having just beaten top-of-the-table Arsenal, Everton must now go to their bitter rivals and not hide away from the task and instead, take it head-on and try to pick up another unlikely positive result.