Sean Dyche has defended his record as Everton manager and rejected the notion that he has a pay-off clause in his contract should he be sacked on the back of the team’s poor results.
The 53-year-old takes his beleagured and patched-up squad to Leicester this weekend desperately needing a result against another club likely to be involved in a relegation battle this season after the Blues started 2024-25 with four straight defeats.
Tuesday’s elimination from the Carabao Cup on penalties following a dismal performance against Southampton has only intensified the disquiet among supporters and the pressure on the manager while also increasing the speculation over his future.
Dyche has overseen just five Premier League wins since mid-December last year and Everton come into this weekend rock bottom of the table with the worst record of any team in Europe’s top five leagues.
Nevertheless, Dyche points to the success he has had so far in keeping the Club in the top flight despite “all these challenges”.
“I regard it as a current and ongoing success because people only know so much of the challenge,” he told the print media yesterday.
“We have spoken about it before, they shouldn’t know everything. It is not fair on supporters to know everything, but there have been huge amounts of shifts here. We have brought in tens and tens of millions in fees, we have got tens of millions off the wage bill, safeguarding the club, trying to develop teams that can excite and win and trying to get young players through the system.
“They are right there in front of everyone’s eyes. I can see it all. Whatever happens next, whether people want me or don’t want me, it is not going to take away the amount of work and effort that has been put in to balance out the situation as best as I can.
“I can speak freely about that, but there are lots of other people as well. The staff included, the players, all of the challenges that have come our way, so if you said stop, stand still now, I would still be proud of everything but the fact is you haven’t said stop, stand still and until that moment comes I will be working my rear off continuing to find a way.”
As talk of Dyche possibly being removed from his position has mounted among supporters, so too have doubts been expressed that Everton could afford to do so, even if absentee-owner Farhad Moshiri was even moved to do so while he has one foot out the door while takeover talks continue with John Textor.
Dyche’s contract expires at the end of this season and the assumption among fans has been that he would be due a portion on his estimated £5m-a-year salary if he were fired. On top of that there has been uncorroborated speculation circulating in discussions online that the there is a club option to extend Dyche’s terms by a further year, with compensation due to be paid on that as well.
Dyche took umbrage at the suggestion, voluntarily raising the topic to journalists at Finch Farm, saying:
“What I will correct is that there seems to be a story going round about my contract,” he explained. “That is nonsense. My contract is going down day by day. End of story. You might as well get rid of that one.
“I don’t think it is right when the world makes up stories that then get heat and I then get heat on situations that have nothing to do with me. [The a]bsolute fact is that my contract is running down by the minute. That’s it.
“The story was I get paid whether I am here or not or whether I have one day on my contract or 10 years. That is absolute nonsense. Judge me by my work, that’s fine, but don’t try to [question] me as a person because that is not fair and it is just not the case.”