Sean Dyche haunted by old Everton claim amid struggles at Goodison Park – Graeme Souness
Sean Dyche’s own words on Everton when in charge of Burnley have now “come back to haunt him” as he struggles in charge at Goodison Park, according to Graeme Souness.
The former Sky Sports pundit suggested in his Mail Plus column on 6 April that the Toffees boss’ claim that this team “don’t know how to win” after he defeated Frank Lampard’s side during the 2022 relegation battle could now be applied to him as he oversees the same players.
Dyche has gone without a Premier League since 16 December, against the Clarets, and against faces his former side this weekend looking to break that streak.
Souness said: “I never felt there was a new-manager surge under Sean Dyche. He comes across really well in the media but I think he’s found it very hard to get a new tune out of those players.
“A lot of it is on confidence. If you’re not scoring goals, not winning games and getting beaten, having not played well, it’s a hard thing to reverse. People stop believing they can win games.
“When Everton lost at Turf Moor from a winning position two years ago, during another relegation battle, Dyche told his Burnley players at half-time that Frank Lampard’s team ‘don’t know how to win.’
“That assessment has come back to haunt him now that he is managing many of those same Everton players.”
Everton boss foresaw his own problems at Burnley?
Unfortunately for Dyche it is easy to throw his own words at him as this side struggles to grind out results through 2024.
In his defence however it wasn’t that long ago that he was overseeing wins with apparent ease in the wake of the club’s original 10-point deduction, and were it not for the reduced six-point penalty his side would be in a (relatively) comfortable position still, as he as dealt with off-field issues around the club on an even greater scale than Lampard.
As it is the Toffees are just four points from the drop zone, albeit with a game in hand on most of the sides around them, and facing a possible second deduction imminently after the conclusion of their latest commission hearing last week.
The irony of course is that Dyche may have beaten Lampard 3-2 at Turf Moor back on 6 April 2022, yet he was the one who then lost his job that season and Burnley were relegated, while the former Everton boss kept his side up.
There were a few encouraging signs in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle on Tuesday (2 April), and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will hope his first goal in months is the start of a return to form.
Even a couple of wins would improve the picture significantly and a home game against Vincent Kompany’s struggling Clarets is the ideal opportunity to make a start.
In other Everton news, Paul Joyce has shared a new takeover update after Premier League talks as the deadline approaches.
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