Everton's summer transfer window was widely regarded as the worst of any Premier League club, with David Moyes left short-staffed and the Friedkin Group damaging fan trust with an aborted attempt to sell academy graduate Harrison Armstrong.
As the deadline-day drama unfolded and star forward Iliman Ndiaye departed, Dewsbury-Hall found himself irritated not by the club's business, but by the reaction to it.
"I've seen all of the stuff, all the meltdowns - in all honesty it annoyed me a bit," the 28-year-old midfielder said. "There are still 19 lads in this building who are going to hopefully take this club to good things this year. That was getting disregarded.
"I was seeing people saying: 'We'll be lucky to stay up this year.' What message is that sending to the lads who are already here?
"I'm not blaming anyone. We get it. It didn't work. But let's all be positive - right, it's done, bang, let's go."
Dewsbury-Hall has settled quickly on Merseyside after a move from Chelsea, where he was fringe under Enzo Maresca, and has become one of Everton's key men under Moyes, with the team unbeaten in the league. He has been voted into a leadership group alongside new captain James Tarkowski, Jordan Pickford and James Garner in place of the injured Seamus Coleman, a notable honour given this is only his second season at the club.
The day after deadline day, Moyes gathered his leaders to address the noise directly.
"There won't be one excuse from any of the players or staff about anything this year," Dewsbury-Hall said, relaying the manager's message. "It's on us now to control what we can control. I know we've got a smaller squad but we've got some really good players. Our starting XI is top, like it's a European starting XI. I get it, you need a whole squad, but we've got 17, 18 players at a really, really good level."
Everton were three points off the Champions League places before fading to 13th last season, and Dewsbury-Hall believes European qualification remains within reach again.
"For sure, definitely," he said. "That was the first year in I don't know how many where we have been really pushing for Europe until the last day. Having that in our locker is massive. There are a lot of clubs in Europe this year who have never been there before. Would you have said Sunderland and Bournemouth would have qualified last year? What difference are they to us?"
Dewsbury-Hall credited Moyes' relentless, demanding standards for the team's early-season form, and revealed he has also received a text message informing him he is on a long-list of players being monitored by England head coach Thomas Tuchel ahead of this month's international camp.
"I know I'm the closest I have ever been now," he said. "Physical things like that tell you that you're getting closer. It's up to me. It's got to be me that forces his hand to choose me. It's not going to be given to me."