Sean Dyche plays down concerns over his expiring Everton contract amid uncertainty over John Textor’s takeover bid and his team’s disastrous start to the season
Sean Dyche says his expiring contract at Everton is the “least of his worries” after the club’s potential new owner John Textor spoke openly about the manager’s future at Goodison Park this week.
Textor, the Crystal Palace boss who claims he has an exclusivity deal to buy Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1 percent stake in Everton, said on Wednesday he wants to speak to Dyche to ensure they share the same vision if he wants to successfully take over the club.
But Dyche, who spent 10 years at Burnley, insists he is used to being asked questions. “That’s standard, in 10 years as a manager you’d be wrong if you thought I hadn’t been down this path before,” the Everton boss said.
‘Even at Burnley they talked about managers for years – “what do you think, they should do this”. It’s standard in the business now. Unless you’re a legendary manager with legendary status at certain clubs, it’s unlikely you’re not going to be questioned in that way.
‘(Arsenal boss) Mikel Arteta has signed a new contract. Three years ago at the start of the season – after three games – there were people saying he should go! I remember they won a few games 1-0 and then they looked like the old Arsenal, three years later he signs a new contract.
Sean Dyche says his expiring Everton contract is ‘the least of his worries’ and accepts rumour
Dyche’s contract expires this summer and he has had a poor start to the new season
Potential new Everton owner John Textor (pictured) has openly discussed Dyche’s future
‘Arsene Wenger was questioned of all people – a manager whose trade paid for a stadium! Everton have had something like that every 12 or 18 months for nine years, with noise generated by poor results or a sense that “you have to change it”.
‘I look at the club, where we are – the player trades, the money we’ve saved, the players we’ve got, the injuries we’ve got – and say, “Can this happen? Yes. Do I want it to happen? No. Do I do everything I can to stop it from happening? Of course.” The outside noise isn’t going to go away.’
Dyche’s contract expires this summer and when asked if he would have to talk to a new owner before committing to a new deal, he replied: ‘Absolutely not. I don’t have to. These things sort themselves out. The last thing I would think about when I was talking to a new owner – if there was a new owner – would be my contract. That will sort itself out anyway.
“That’s the other side of it. They want to know what you’re doing, what’s happening, where we are. My contract is the least of my worries at the moment. My first concern is that the team wins football games.”
Everton will look to do just that when they travel to Aston Villa for kick-off on Saturday. The club were forced to issue a statement on Thursday afternoon reiterating their support for Dyche following Textor’s comments.
The document was drafted by interim chief executive Colin Chong and read: ‘While positive discussions are ongoing and progress is being made with Mr Textor to formalise an eventual deal with him, there is still some work to be done to complete the transaction.
‘Therefore, Mr Textor’s comments represent only his personal views on club matters. Everyone at the club remains focused on providing the best possible support to Sean and the squad as we head into the weekend’s match.’
Dyche will be without Jarrad Branthwaite and Nathan Patterson against Villa, while captain Seamus Coleman is touch and go after being forced off with an injury in Ireland’s defeat to England last week. Deadline Day signing Armando Broja is injured, although fellow new boy Orel Mangala could feature.
Everton suffered a humiliating defeat to Bournemouth in the last game before the international break
Dyche will be looking to grab Everton’s first points of the season when they travel to Aston Villa this weekend
The manager, whose side lost 3-2 to Bournemouth in their last game despite leading 2-0 after 87 minutes, added: ‘The ambition here changes every week, it’s different stories – it’s sold, it’s not sold, you’re here, you’re not here.
“I’ve heard it all since I’ve been here and I’ve only been here 20 months. It’s been a period of ups and downs, that’s for sure, but that’s for the club, not just for me. I think it’s still there. We’ve brought some calm to the process.
‘But at the moment it’s a volatile situation on and off the pitch with talk of a change of ownership and not getting the results we want to get. Football rarely surprises me – it did against Bournemouth for seven minutes, but now it rarely surprises me.’