By George Overhill

18th Sep, 2023 | 12:10pm

Sean Dyche budget comments to Sky Sports could be beginning of the end at Everton as Arsenal loss adds to woes

Sean Dyche’s position at Everton is increasingly under the spotlight and his own comments this weekend feel like they could be the beginning of the end of the Toffees boss.

The former Burnley manager has only been in position since January when he replaced Frank Lampard, but after keeping the club up on the final day of the season last term he has now picked up a just single point from five games following the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday (17 September).

Dyche has largely been matter of fact when asked about the difficulties that have surrounded the club during his tenure, but in comments to Sky Sports ahead of the game against Mikel Arteta’s side the tone appeared to have shifted.

Dyche said: “It’s still early this season, but certainly last season by far the hardest in my football life really.

“You can’t tell every story, but what we’re having to sort out inside, win games, all the speculation, all the noise, going down to the last game of the season, injuries, everything that could go wrong going wrong, very, very difficult to manage.

“To bring it all together and still get a team out there and win enough games, which we did do, and going into the summer I thought there might be a little bit more available to shift or shuffle the pack…”

“In terms of money you mean?” asked Vicky Gomersall.

“Yeah and options,” Dyche continued, “that wasn’t the case. But I’ve always been a great believe in tell me what to manage and I’ll manage it. I’ll certainly manage it the best I can, and no excuses. There is no excuses, it’s just realities.”

Dyche simply isn’t the sort of manager to go down the Antonio Conte route and publicly explode about a situation he is unhappy about, as the former title winner with Chelsea did before his exit from Tottenham [Sky Sports, 18 March].

But the implication that the struggles have been greater than even he expected seems clear, and mentioning the fact that the finances proved even tighter than he thought this summer both indicates he may feel he’s operating under worse conditions than had been promised, and that he is distancing himself from some of the criticism of his side.

He is not immune from it since his Everton team is by no means the efficient unit he crafted on a small budget at Burnley and is so often less than the sum of its parts, but the off-field uncertainty and the huge pressure to avoid relegation amid financial concerns do seem a uniquely trying set of circumstances.

Alluding to having to sort issues “inside” while saying he “can’t tell every story” indicates he has often been putting a brave face on a stressful situation.

With owner Farhad Moshiri having agreed a sale to 777 Partners which may or may not actually happen in the coming months the upheaval is showing no signs of letting up, and whether it is driven from Dyche’s side or the club’s it is starting to feel like he could go the way of his predecessor before long.

The announcement of the latest move overshadowed preparations for the Arsenal clash, and was criticised by minority shareholders as it is not the first time it has happened, and it may be that the manager feels he is in an impossible position.

In other Everton news, a club shareholder has hailed “greatest Evertonian” Bill Kenwright as he slammed the “blinking disaster” that Moshiri has overseen at Goodison Park.