I couldn’t be any prouder to be an Evertonian than I am right now.

It’s easy for me and everyone else on the outside to pick bones out of what they should have done in hindsight – and that’s what we do as fans – but I’ve been a player myself and I know that winning games in the Premier League is tough at the best of times. Trying to win when you’ve had two lots of sanctions and you’ve had points for all your hard work taken away from you through no fault of your own, getting yourself back up again and being professional must be difficult.

The players have got the bit between their teeth and shown the Premier League that you don’t mess with this football club and this fanbase. Credit too to the 1878s, the Grand Old Lady has looked absolutely fabulous over this past week with the flags and the banners and with the Sky Sports broadcasters changing a lot of games to put us in the limelight, I’d like to thank them because the whole world has got to see the Everton fanbase in full voice at Goodison Park in glorious form.

The atmosphere has been absolutely fantastic and I am sure no other club in world football would be able to emulate what we do as a fanbase. When we’re united as a football club, only the best things can happen to us.

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Everton produced their performance of the season in the Merseyside Derby. It just shows what the boys are capable of when they’re all switched on and at it.

That’s what I’ve challenged the players to do for a while now. Even if you’re going through a bad period, make sure you’re not the one to let the side down – win your battles and help your team-mates out when you can.

The display against Liverpool was like that. You’ve got to ride your luck at times – of course you do – but you’ve also got to be there showing full desire, willingness and even belief.

When the fans started singing: “You lost the league at Goodison Park” a few people were thinking: ‘Not yet, it’s too early’ but I was that confident with how we were playing, it wasn’t a problem. Liverpool just couldn’t figure out the occasion, they always try and blow it over and say that it’s a normal game for them but you tell that it got to them and they were rushing opportunities with misplaced passes and crosses.

They were losing their battles in midfield and Van Dijk was getting very frustrated at the back. That was all down to Sean Dyche’s tactics and our players’ work ethic.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was sick before the derby but he also had a banged up knee and still did the job against one of the supposed best centre-halves in the world. We might not be able to do it week after week but it shows when the mentality is right, the level of performance we can produce.

We’ve overcome the Goodison Park derby hoodoo now and whoever is in the squad next season has got that belief they can do it again next year. Everton were unlucky at Anfield, a couple of decisions went against them and it felt like the story of our season.

When I walked away from Goodison I was really pleased though and what really made me smile was coming back there again on Saturday. Of course we weren’t expecting the same kind of intensity in the performance against Brentford but there was a real buzz around the ground and a few of the faces I saw looked like they hadn’t left since Wednesday night as they were wearing the same clothes so I wondered whether they’d been out since but they told me they were keeping them on for good luck!

It was a difficult game but the boys got the job done again. Playing at Goodison, playing teams around us and playing Liverpool, they have been three things that have been Everton’s ‘Kryptonite’ for far too long but over the past week the team have found solutions to all of them.

After the embarrassing performance at Chelsea and it was all doom and gloom. We were thinking: ‘How does Sean Dyche rally these players?’

However, maybe what happened at Finch Farm acted as a total reset. I wondered whether the manager had been stubborn at times and put everything on the players but they’ve all taken accountability for that result at Stamford Bridge and have come up with the solutions.

Three wins on the bounce is fantastic and we couldn’t have asked for any more. The players have shown their willingness to put the work load in and it shows that they care – they don’t go out there to play poorly or make mistakes.

We had three-and-a-half months of torture but credit to Dyche, he told them to keep at it. You can tweak tactics and formations but it’s all about mentality and desire.

It’s been a joyous week to be an Evertonian – even Luke Littler was getting in the act at the darts – but we’d forgotten how this feels. We’ve had three years of uncertainty, panic and worry and it’s so hard to get yourself going.

You don’t want to be talking negatively about the club that you love. You want to be positive and talking about us doing great things.

I’ve got to hold my hand up and thank Dyche and the players for stepping up to the plate. Dyche has had to deal with a lot, with both the things we know and a lot more that we don’t know about the inside of the club.

For him to face the media over issues on and off the football pitch must be difficult and while he’s pointed out that this isn’t his first rodeo, that experience of both himself and his coaching staff has been shown over the last couple of weeks. He’s not used the points deductions or the turmoil upstairs with the proposed takeover dragging on as excuses which many managers could have done and might have been given sympathy for as the football club is still an absolute mess right now and we don’t know what’s going on.

We know there’s room for improvement – of course there is – and we’re not playing perfectly but we’re winning football games, keeping clean sheets and getting back to basics. The camaraderie within the group has been shown when we’ve scored goals as while the substitutes will be disappointed that they’re not playing, they’ve been getting involved in the celebrations and that shows that they’re all in it together.

Belief against Brentford as the team stick two fingers up to the Premier League

I loved what I heard from Sean Dyche and James Tarkowski that now is not the time for flip-flops. Yes we’ve secured our place in the top flight for another season and the Premier League have put a lot of pressure on our manager and our players but even if they’d have got their way and deducted us 17 points, the boys have basically stuck two fingers up to them because even with that we wouldn’t be in the relegation zone.

We haven’t had any help from anybody. The players have had to look themselves in the mirror and dig deep so let’s finish the season off correctly and professionally, there’s nothing better than going into the summer on a roll and in form.

The Brentford game wasn’t as intense as you’d expect it to be but of course that was going to be the case given the week we’ve had and the energy that’s been drained. However, there was an air of confidence about how Everton were playing and although Jordan Pickford came to the rescue again with a fantastic save, that just seems to be the norm with him.

Yes it wasn’t an exciting game but the feeling was that we were always going to score a goal at some point. That’s the kind of belief that’s been lacking so that was great to see.

Blues have sold Gordon and Iwobi but still made progress under Dyche

Everton have now got another game on Sky Sports on Friday and I’m just thankful for the extra television money coming into the club because they’ve wasted a chunk of their budget on what they thought will be another huge relegation battle but now it won’t be.

Like all Evertonians, I’m looking forward to be able to watch the other remaining matches without a weight on our shoulders. We can now relax and enjoy the rest of the run-in at both the top and bottom of the table without being anxious, going for walks and getting out of the house to avoid panicking and that’s all down to Dyche.

At the start of each season you want to see progress on the previous year and evidence that things are moving in the right direction. Things at Everton aren’t going to change overnight but despite everything that Dyche and the club have had to deal with, selling players like Anthony Gordon and Alex Iwobi, we’ve still made progress.

There’s still lots of things that need fixing but just finishing the season with calmness now thanks to the efforts of Dyche and the players. Everyone has been giving plaudits to Brighton & Hove Albion, how they do things and how the football club is run but if it wasn’t for the points deductions, we’d be level with them.

Dyche has made progress. If I was one of those players, I’d consider the team to be on 44 points, I wouldn’t be counting the deduction if I’d earned those points and next season I’d want to beat that target again.