Sean Dyche arrived at Everton with the club embroiled in a relegation battle for a second season in a row after predecessor Frank Lampard was shown the door after roughly a year in charge.
The Ex-Burnley manager was tasked with keeping the Toffees in the Premier League and, after a dramatic final day, he did just that.
Dyche managed to earn big wins over Arsenal, Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth by placing his trust in a solid core of players that repaid him over the course of a few months.
Not every Everton fan would have agreed with his choices to drop or recall certain players, especially during a tense part of the season, but his choices are certainly justified now.
In fact, his use of certain players has told us a lot about the style he’s tried to implement, but, in some cases, his hand has been forced with the squad he inherited and he found a way to get results battling against injuries and a poorly balanced squad.
On that note, we’ve decided to see which players were the most trusted under the Goodison Park boss by listing them in order of total minutes played (for which they were available) - with two players achieving a 100% minutes played.
9. Amadou Onana - 79% of Available Minutes
Injuries played their part, but he was a key player under Lampard before his sacking. Dyche brought him in and out of the team as he tinkered with different systems, but inconsistency at the end of the season saw Onana left out of certain games. Photo: PETER POWELL
10. Vitaliy Mykolenko - 76% of Available Minutes
The Ukrainian is the club’s first-choice left-back but struggled with injuries at the back end of the season - with a combination of Godfrey, Holgate and McNeil filling in that position. | Getty Images
11. Michael Keane - 63% of Available Minutes
A decisive figure between Everton fans, Dyche used his former player a lot during the early stage of his reign, as he was a player he clearly trusted but was left out of games for Yerry Mina in the final month. | Getty Images
12. James Garner - 56% of Available Minutes
Dyche utilised Garner in multiple positions, despite being a midfielder. His hard-work and unselfish attitude saw him trusted to play right-back, right wing-back and, out-wide or in the centre. Another fan favourite. | Getty Images