Sean Dyche appealed to disgruntled Evertonians to park their grievances with the club and lift his relegation-threatened team, as he denied receiving promises over transfers before taking the job.
The new Everton manager witnessed the fracture between fans and board on his second day in charge when protests were held outside Finch Farm training ground over the failure to make a January signing. Demonstrations against the board are planned for before and after Saturday’s home match against the league leaders Arsenal, with organisers pledging their support to Dyche and his players during the game.
“Some players and managers get a head start because of a preloaded view. I’ve never asked for that. This is a proud football club with a rich history and I’ve got to earn my part of that. I’ve been in Goodison when it’s rocking and it’s interesting when you’re on the other side. I want that atmosphere. The message is clear: unity. We have to. Even the most disgruntled Evertonians needs to give us a chance because their backing is very important. I’m reaching out to them: we’ll give you honesty, work ethic, and all we ask is give us a window to breathe, to get ourselves going.”
The task confronting Dyche was made more difficult by Everton ending the transfer window with a weaker squad, having sold Anthony Gordon to Newcastle for £40m and failed to sign much-needed additions to the forward line. The club did not make an offer to André Ayew before he signed for Nottingham Forest as a free agent and are unlikely to move for Isco, another free agent.
Dyche insisted he and the director of football, Kevin Thelwell, would not “sign players for the sake of it – they’ve got to be better than what we’ve got here”. Despite the owner, Farhad Moshiri, promising a new striker in an interview with Everton’s fan advisory board, Dyche claims he received no such assurances.
“When you sign a player there is no absolute given that the player is going to strengthen you,” he said. “My point is there is no guarantee, all it does is give you an improved chance if you sign the right players. There were no promises to me at all. I agreed to come in. They said it was going to be a tough window. Guess what? It was a tough window. Honesty is all you want.”
