Sean Dyche has opened up on the most ‘awful period’ of his career as he tried to keep Everton in the Premier League in 2022/23.
Dyche was speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap podcast, and discussed his difficult first few months at Everton.
The ex-Burnley boss was appointed in January 2023 after Frank Lampard was dismissed with the Blues 16th in the table, following a run of nine defeats in 12 games.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s winner against Bournemouth ultimately kept Everton up on the final weekend, before a turbulent period continued with a points deduction in 2023/24.
Dyche discussed his Everton experience, praising the fans for uniting amid challenging circumstances, and detailing his emotions during a close escape from relegation.
“The best thing about Evertonians is, when we got the points deduction, it was almost like a regrouping,” Dyche began.
“You know, they were so powerful, for me included. It was almost like they got rid of any opinion of me and went ‘right, let’s give him a chance because he’s just had the rug pulled from under him’. It sort of weirdly bonded everyone and then the team started, we started building a momentum and a feel. It just got more and more powerful.
“It sort of was, yeah [us against the world]. I think Everton can be that sort of club. That’s the sense I got anyway, the people’s club and all those stories from the past.
“I knew some of the ex-players, Rats [Kevin Ratcliffe] and all them. Reidy [Peter Reid] was brilliant for me, a brilliant voice. Big Nev [Neville Southall], I don’t know Nev, but he was brilliant for me, giving a very honest and balanced opinon.
“So, a funny kind of club. It was quite extreme in my thinking of football, about how quickly it can change. Everyone’s pointing in one direction, and then everyone’s not. Two results either way and it changes. I think other clubs have a longer sort of view of that.
“I didn’t enjoy some of the knocks, obviously. But when we were high… when [Abdoulaye] Doucoure scored. [That was] The most awful period of my career. It’s the hardest week of my life building up to that game, with that amount of weight and pressure. But when he scored I’ve never heard a crowd like it. It’s the loudest noise in a stadium I’ve ever heard.”
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