Gary Neville wowed by Sean Dyche on Sky Sports as Everton boss gets his award
Everton manager Sean Dyche was given high praise on Sky Sports by Gary Neville, who said he put in the managerial performance of the season recently.
Speaking on Monday Night Football alongside Jamie Carragher, Neville said that Dyche's management in the Toffees' 2-0 win over Liverpool in April was the best single performance of any coach this season.
Everton defeated their arch-rivals on 24 April in the third of a four-game winning streak at Goodison Park, sending them to the brink of Premier League safety - which has since been confirmed.
When asked for his reasoning by Dave Jones, Neville said: "I thought that Sean Dyche; the way that Everton played against Liverpool a few weeks ago in that really important Merseyside derby.
"Big game for them. They still weren't safe at that time, it was almost the game that made them safe.
"That was, to me, the game I thought, 'well done to Sean Dyche, he's done it right here'."
Should Sean Dyche have been nominated for Manager of the Year?
Everton and Dyche overcame all the odds and chaos aplenty to seal their Premier League safety with several games to spare, and a 1-0 win over Sheffield United on 11 May took them to 40 points.
That total is often framed as the go-to target for any team trying to stay up, but in any other season, the Toffees would have already broken that barrier some weeks ago.
The fact that Dyche has managed to keep his side up so comfortably, in the end, is even more remarkable when factoring in the two points deductions that Everton have received this season, with a total of eight points being wiped off their tally for financial fair play breaches.
In the face of such adversity, the Blues boss certainly deserves higher recognition - and being named April's manager of the month was a just reward for the 52-year-old following four wins from six - all four of which came at Goodison Park without conceding a single goal.
Only one game remains, away at Arsenal, and if Dyche can inspire his Everton side to another victory which has a significant bearing on the title race, it could make plenty of onlookers stand up and realise just how good a job Dyche has done at the embattled club this season.
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