Everton's Sean Dyche eyes advantage amid Crystal Palace manager uncertainty

Eagles boss Roy Hodgson was taken ill during training on Thursday but speculation about his future had already reached fever pitch with former Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner tipped to take over.

Two wins since November has left Palace dangerously close to the bottom three while Everton were already in a relegation battle having not won a Premier League match since mid-December.

Dyche is no stranger to speculation and uncertainty, after dealing with a 10-point deduction and a long-running takeover saga which is into its fifth month, but he has urged his players to stay focused.

"The mentality has to be right for us. If anything is not right their end it is nothing to do with us and if it unbalances their situation that's helpful," he said ahead of Monday's match at Goodison Park.

"But equally you can turn it the other way and say will they be galvanised by the situation? Who knows?

"There is an awareness of the opposition but I've always kept the straightforward thinking that the game has to be about us, particularly at Goodison where we want to take the game on.

"The coverage in football is so vast the players are all aware of the situation so we focus on what we are doing."

With Hodgson still recuperating it seems like his long-time assistant Ray Lewington will be in the dugout on Monday but Dyche has sent a goodwill message to the former England boss.

"I sent a message and briefly spoke to Ray on a message and I believe things are OK at the minute but we wish him well and we want that before anything," he added.

"A great guy, someone I respect greatly, and we are hoping that he recovers. But when the game comes around we have to look beyond that; it's an important game and the points are important to us.

"But bigger than the game is certainly his health and I hope he is well and he comes through it with no problems."

Dyche will be boosted by the return of influential midfielder and top scorer Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has featured just once in the last 10 matches because of a hamstring problem.

After substitute appearances in last weekend's defeat at Manchester City, captain Seamus Coleman and midfielder Amadou Onana could return to the team after their full recovery from injuries.

"Doucs has got a chance, he's back in the thinking as he's been back on the grass this week so that's good news," said Dyche.

"He's done very well. If he's right and feels right he's certainly in the thinking. We've got a couple of days to train before the game."

Read More: Roy Hodgson backs Crystal Palace's talent pool to avoid relegation (planetsport.com)