Sean Dyche makes pressure claim and admits ‘positive stories’ about Everton

Personal ambition is playing no role in Sean Dyche’s drive to keep Everton in the Premier League, the Blues boss said.

He dismissed any notion of his own “brand” as being irrelevant in the context of the club’s battle for survival and accepted pressure was an inevitable part of the situation he is in.

Dyche highlighted that dealing with the “noise” around the club was an issue he had to consider but said the ultimate focus was on the most effective way to change the tone of that – getting the results needed to pull Everton away from danger.

Speaking ahead of the Blues’ trip to face Crystal Palace, and with the club outside the bottom three on goal difference alone, Dyche was asked whether he felt under pressure as he attempted to oversee a relegation escape. In response, he said: “At the end of the day, pressure is inevitable in whatever job you do no matter where you are in the league. It’s a different kind of pressure when you’re at the bottom compared to the top because there’s a different type of feel, a different level of expectation.

“Now on a daily basis, it is about handling the noise outside because that’s grown massively over the years. It’s very difficult to get a positive story about anything with Everton at the moment. That’s part of the pressure, to shift that onto reality. The reality is we are where we are. I took over a club that I knew where was, so the challenge is a real one. We have to change that. It’s a relative thing. Is it the same pressure as someone who is doing brain surgery with a scalpel and just about to cut a lesion? I don’t think that’s the same pressure. That’s more pressure.”

Dyche parted ways with Burnley in the closing stages of last season with the club facing the drop. But he suggested his CV, his reputation and his legacy are effectively irrelevant in contrast to the fate of the club. The club’s latest set of accounts highlighted concerns about the future of Everton in the event of what would be a catastrophic relegation.

Dyche said he is driven by a desire to do the best for the club, not for himself: “I’m more bothered about the work, about the club, what we do, our planning, the detail, working with the players on a daily basis. That’s my focus. My life in football will come and go.

“People will forget you very quickly. It’s not relevant, any of that. It’s about the work. I’m not bothered about my brand or what people think of me, I can assure you. It’s about what is going on at the club and making sure we do the right things to turn it around. That’s what all of my thoughts are on.”