‘It’s coming’ - Watford legend sends Everton stars warning over infamous Sean Dyche trademark

Former Watford striker Troy Deeney has further lifted the lid on the strict fitness regime players are expected to adhere to under Everton manager Sean Dyche.

The under-pressure Toffees boss spent just over a year in charge at the Hornets and worked with talisman Deeney, who is now a player-coach at League Two side Forest Green Rovers. The ex-Premier League striker presents the Football Firsts podcast with Spurs and Portsmouth legend Jermaine Defoe and this week the two turned their attention to the angriest managers they had worked under.

Deeney opened by speaking about his time working under Dyche, although argued that the Everton boss isn't quite as tough as he may present in press conferences and interviews. He said: "I was at Watford for 12 years and had 18 managers. Dychey was funny. He presents like a disciplinarian, he is in terms of structure and organisation but he'd always have banter with the boys."

The Forest Green Rovers man went on to explain the thinking behind Dyche's famous bleep test fitness work, which he was seen conducting just days after being appointed Toffees manager in January. Deeney said: "He always has a day - it's funny, when he started at Everton there was a picture, he was doing bleep test and that halfway through the season - he does a day in pre-season, and if anyone is at Everton now it's coming, he does a Gaffer's Day. There's no heart rates, no GPS, he takes a session and tells the sports scientists, don't get involved. He'd have two of those per pre-season. He's done it everywhere."

After arriving at Goodison Park, Dyche was asked about his choice to put the Everton squad through the rigorous fitness test so early on, as he implemented open feedback questionnaires to allow stars to open up about what had been going wrong at the club under Frank Lampard.

Dyche said: "There are things I like to crossover with businesses I've been to. The idea of feedback, I want it and I want it to be honest. It's a delicate one - people can write down some pretty interesting things!

"But it's not just where things are going wrong, we say what are the things that work? A lot of answers come out pretty similar, we share it back with the group and work on that basis. And then to change that we do this, this and this... There's a bit of common sense to it.

"There was a bit of noise about the yo-yo test. It's not to try to give some sort of hard-line, which people suggest. It's a measure I've used many times, so I know where people should be at through years of using that measure. Your body needs to be at a certain level to take the requirements of what the game offers you.

"I've got three players here who I've worked with before but for some of the players that's probably a new thing, and I think they were excellent, very open-minded and I believe they offered a truthful view. Complete anonymity, I just wanted honest feedback."