Everton boss Sean Dyche has claimed he's not bothered about the teams fighting for Premier League survival - because no one 'cared' about the club last season.
The Toffees are safe from the drop and drew 1-1 with Luton Town on Friday night, with Elijah Adebayo earning a draw for the home side following a penalty from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Everton were involved in a relegation dogfight last season but managed to stay up.
This time around, Burnley, Luton Town and Nottingham Forest are fighting for survival - with Sheffield United already down having amassed just 16 points so far.
Everton news: Sean Dyche claims 'no one cared' about his team last season after his side's draw with Luton on Friday night
REUTERS
And Dyche, when asked which team he'd like to stay up, came out fighting by saying he didn't have a preference because 'no one cared' about his Everton side 12 months ago.
“No one cared about Everton Football Club when we were down there on the last day of the season," he said.
"So they’ll have to fight it out.
"We had to fight it out, we had to take care of ourselves so all of the clubs will have to fight it out.
“We’ve taken care of ourselves this season with many, many challenges and I’m very proud of that.
"But it’s not for choosing ifs, buts, maybes and sides because I’ve been down there myself and no one gives you anything.
"You have to take care of yourself, they’ve all got to fight it out and see who can get the job done.”
With Everton drawing, they're currently on a run of just one defeat from their last seven matches.
Dyche is proud of the progress the Toffees have made this term, though the 52-year-old insists there's still plenty of room for improvement.
"We were off first half and not much better in the second half, credit Luton for that," he said.
"We want to go on to win more games.
"We moved forward with our resilience, They bombarded us and we dealt with it.
"It's hard for me to measure games like this, because some of the younger players are carrying a big season. I ask a lot of them and tonight we looked a bit off but credit to Luton, they made it really tough tonight.
"I'm not going to over question but there's been a lot of good signs. There's a lot of work to be done.
"The balance of the club is quite obvious. The team and mentality has moved forward. We are doing all the hard yards."
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
Everton news: Sean Dyche is proud of his team with Luton held to a 1-1 draw
REUTERS
Luton boss Rob Edwards, meanwhile, has admitted he's 'disappointed' by his side's failure to secure all three points.
And he also admitted he feels 'sick' at present due to the intensity of their fight against relegation.
"We obviously wanted to win the game. We threw everything at it so I am disappointed right now," he said.
"But I can't fault the players. The players gave it absolutely everything, so did the supporters.
"I'm really proud of everybody, but yeah, of course I wanted to win the game."
Everton news: Luton boss Rob Edwards has admitted he feels 'sick' as his side battle to stay in the Premier League
GETTY
Edwards continued: "I feel sick, I'm ready to take off in celebration. We threw everything at it. We were pushing until the end and that is us. We've been like that all season.
"The supporters can see when the players are giving absolutely everything for the shirt. There's pride.
"We're still in the mix and the fight, we've got to keep believing."