Sean Dyche today launched a passionate defense of his tenure at Everton and suggested the club is in a better position than when he arrived.
The Toffees are on a four-match winless run in which they have scored just once and lost 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Dyche has been criticized by fans for his austere style of play, but the 53-year-old pointed out that he has had to deal with several off-field problems since his appointment two years ago.
One of them was a long period of uncertainty during which Farhad Moshiri tried to sell the club. The Friedkin Group completed its takeover just before Christmas, leading to speculation that Dyche could be fired.
Dyche talks to himself
However, the former Burnley boss believes his achievements at Goodison Park should be highlighted.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth, he said: “I think there’s been development from a lot of players here. My work here has been endless, but no one really cares – they just care about “going away and gaining a play partner”. I said it all the time. We’ve saved hundreds of millions of pounds, in wages, downsizing the team, everything else – it’s irrelevant – it’s ‘just go win a game’.
“I know the work we have done here. I know the work we have done financially. I know the work we have done with the players – the players here are worth 10 times more than they were when we arrived here, so there is development. The only thing that dev fans, media and everyone cares about, including myself to some extent, is winning matches.
“Some managers have the luxury of saying, ‘your job is just to focus on the team and that’s it because everything else is in place.’ Obviously, this was not the case and still is not the case. There are miles to go, there is endless work to be done here.
“It depends on how you measure it. If you just measure it by winning games, we have to do better, I have to do better. If you measure it over the entire body of work, I’m pretty happy.
January is a difficult month to do business
Dyche played down the idea that the arrival of new owners automatically means Everton will be active in the January transfer window.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s common knowledge that January is a very difficult month because you never know,” he added.
“I’m not saying no but it’s very hard. Forgetting the numbers, usually if big deals are made, they often paid a lot of money to make those big deals happen.
Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been linked with a move to Atalanta, but Dyche claims the Serie A leaders have not been in contact.
“No, there has been no contact from anyone,” he said. “There are bound to be rumors, that’s the nature of things.
“I think we would consider it if it happened, but as there has been no contact, no discussion is necessary.”
The quartet still absent
Everton travel to Bournemouth in 16th place in the Premier League, two points ahead of Ipswich, who occupy the final relegation spot.
They will still be without Tim Iroegbunam, James Garner, Dwight McNeil and Seamus Coleman at Vitality Stadium.
▶️ Fitness updates from Sean Dyche ahead of this weekend’s trip to Bournemouth. pic.twitter.com/8zUchLXuGh
-Everton (@Everton) January 2, 2025
“Tim Iroegbunam and James Garner are back on the grass, but the scientific side of the sport is not ready for us yet,” Dyche said. “They still have a little time left but they are making progress.
“I doubt Dwight McNeil will be ready this weekend, it’s settling in, but getting him to that final moment where he can compete again is proving a little trickier than we thought.
“Seamus isn’t ready.” Nothing too serious, but he’s not ready for this one.
