Sean Dyche on Everton exit: never say never

Sean Dyche left Everton after taking 17 points from the first 19 matches of last season, and more than a year on he still won’t rule out a return to management.

In fresh comments reported by talkSPORT, the former Everton boss says he is in no rush to take his next job, but he refuses to shut the door completely.

Dyche explains that his recent posts have been “heavy lifting”, at clubs that needed “almost bailing out”, rather than taking charge of a team already in good shape.

He is staying busy away from the game and watching his son play when he can, but he insists one phone call could still change everything: “never say never in football.”

Sean Dyche: how it happened

Dyche’s Everton spell explains why his words still carry weight with supporters. He took charge on 30 January 2023, with the club second bottom of the Premier League and facing a real threat of relegation.

Everton survived on the final day of that season, beating Bournemouth 1-0 thanks to an Abdoulaye Doucoure goal at Goodison Park. It was the sort of rescue job that has shaped much of Dyche’s management career.

The following campaign brought an unprecedented double points deduction, the first of its kind in Premier League history. Without those deducted points, Everton would have finished the season in 12th place, well clear of any trouble.

Dyche’s exit came midway through Everton’s final season at Goodison Park, after he had taken those 17 points from the first 19 matches. David Moyes replaced him soon after.

For more on those remarks, see our full report on Dyche’s comments and the Liverpool Echo version of the same interview.

Dyche ponders next role in football

The language Sean Dyche uses here is revealing. He did not describe himself as finished with management, and retirement never came up at all.

Asked directly about a possible return, he stayed guarded: “We’ll see. First thing’s first, it’s not easy to get any jobs in football. So you’ve got to first of all, get a job.”

His description of recent roles as “heavy lifting” at clubs that “need almost bailing out” tells its own story too.

It points to some weariness at always walking into a crisis or salvage job. Next time, he would relish a clean slate, but his reputation comes before him.

What happens next for Dyche

For now, Dyche is filling his time away from the touchline. “I still keep myself active,” he said, watching his son Max Dyche play when he can and taking in games as a supporter rather than a manager.

He is also due in Merthyr Tydfil with broadcaster Jonny Owen, where the pair will “do a sort of talk to raise some funds” for the town, according to talkSPORT.

None of that rules out a quick return if the right vacancy comes up.

Dyche left the door open himself: “But you know what it’s like, never say never in football. The phone rings and you might just go, yep, come on and let’s go.”

Everton have moved on under Moyes, with squad depth under renewed scrutiny this season.

Our squad-depth report and our piece on Moyes’ tied hands both looked at where the current group needs strengthening.

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