Everton manager Sean Dyche says the club still have “miles to go” on and off the pitch following the Merseyside derby win over Liverpool.

The 2-0 victory at Goodison Park on Wednesday moved the Toffees eight points clear of the relegation places with four games to play.

That is despite Everton having been docked a total of eight points this season for breaches of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

“There are miles to go. It’s a thing I’ve thought about, the truth line of the club,” Dyche said.

“There has to be a level where everyone across the board gets it. All the fans and all people at the club and I still think we are not quite there.

“We are getting towards it, some of the reality of the club – the finances and where it is and there is no quick fix. It has to be built on.”

Everton’s top-flight status would already be secured had the club not been hit with two separate points deductions during the current campaign.

The club have appealed against a two-point deduction for breaching financial rules in the three-year period to 2022-23, after a 10-point deduction for the preceding three-year period was reduced to six in February.

Victory over Liverpool was a third win in four league games for Dyche’s side, who will aim to move closer to confirming safety against Brentford on Saturday.

“We’ve taken big steps but there is more to come,” Dyche said.

“We can control the situation ourselves and that’s what we’ve always been aiming to do, even with the points deduction, and we are beginning to show that again.”