Sean Dyche was asked about Farhad Moshiri and talked about the club’s takeover he says ‘seems to be gathering pace’
Everton manager Sean Dyche has spoken about his relationship with the outgoing Farhad Moshiri and prospective owners The Friedkin Group (TFG) ahead of the massive match with Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Goodison Park showdown between the Premier League strugglers takes place on Wednesday night.
And the Blues will go into the game on the back of a 4-0 defeat at Manchester United that increased the pressure on Dyche and his players.
Everton are currently two points above Wolves, who occupy the final relegation place. And with an incredibly difficult run of matches after it in the form of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, it feels a must-win for the Blues.
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Sky Sports reported earlier today that Dyche, who led the club to survival on the final day of the 2022-23 season and then to comfortable safety last season despite two separate points deductions, retains the backing of Moshiri, who has agreed to sell the club to TFG.
And Dyche said at his press conference this afternoon: “It’s never been as easy ride since I walked into the building. I’ve never questioned the fans. I’ve tried to keep everything in house. It’s been difficult and it still is difficult. The club hasn’t been operating in the manner it wants to for the last five seasons.
“We finished last season really well and maybe that was misleading going into this season. It was never going to be an easy season. Could we have made it easier? For sure, I’ve made errors this season, the team have made errors. It’s a fact of life as a manager you have to get the margins right and we haven’t done so, so far this season. But the bigger picture of this club is that it’s been a challenge since I first walked in. So many good things have been done but you’ve got to win games and we haven’t won enough this season and we have to correct it ASAP.”
The Blues have failed to score in any of their last four matches and while they have only lost twice in their previous nine league outings, they have only won twice during the same period.
Asked about the support of Moshiri, Dyche said: “I’ve always had a relationship with him which is very simple – WhatsApp messages, the odd phone call – very super simple.
“We’re still waiting on the new ownership. It seems to be gathering pace. Who knows what that will bring? We’ll have to wait and see because I’ve had no contact with them. We all know there’s been other groups and it’s fell away and I can only imagine, because I don’t know them as operators, they’ve gone, ‘no, until we’re absolutely there, we’ll sit tight’.
“And I’m sure when they’re nearly ready they’ll reach out to me, whether I’m their guy or not, they’ll reach out to get a feel of what I’ve learned because that’s good business practice. I can see why they’ve stepped away until it’s finally done and then I’m sure they’ll be in ASAP and say, ‘right, this is where we’re going with it’.”
Dyche, whose contract is up at the end of the campaign, continued later in the press conference: “I must make it clear Mr Moshiri has been fine with me on WhatsApp. He’s been supportive of me, I think he’s realistic of the challenge, so no problem with that, and the WhatsApp thing is irrelevant, it’s just his manner of keeping in touch. The new owners if they come in might decide to do that – a lot of people do that nowadays.
“The challenge of the job hasn’t changed at this moment. If the owners come in, they’ll have a plan, a strategy, a feel, and they’ll probably make their changes to the hierarchy, and the way they see it going, but we’ll have to wait and see until I speak to them.”
Dyche also stressed there was unity among the squad amid growing unrest about on-pitch performances from supporters. The Blues boss, who confirmed fit-again summer signing Armando Broja could be in the squad against Wolves, said: “I couldn’t be more proud of this group. These have come through fire after fire, a lot of this group. We’re still going, we’re still fighting – I’m certainly still fighting, and I believe the team are. We don’t always get it right but we can get it right again.
“The goalposts changed radically within a month of getting it in here. Not in a vicious way. All sort of things started happening – last season you all know it was massive shock to me when we got the points deductions. I didn’t even know that was on the horizon when I came here. It’s a constant challenge here – I’ve always been up for it and I have to show it again.”
