Dubai: Everton have turned to Sean Dyche to save them from relegation and even though he isn’t a big name in the football world I believe he is the ideal man for the job.
The former Burnley coach, who had been out of work for nine months, was confirmed as the new Toffees’ boss on Monday after the club sacked previous manager Frank Lampard.
Lampard, who had spells as Derby and Chelsea manager, was in charge for a year but had taken the team backwards. He came in when Rafa Benitez – the former Liverpool boss – was sacked but Lampard also bit the bullet following a terrible run of just 1 win from 13 games.
Bottom of the table
The Blues slumped to joint bottom of the Premier League table and now comes Dyche who knows all about a relegation scrap having saved The Clarets on several occasions during his 10 years in charge at Turf Moor. He twice led them to promotion from the Championship and took them as high as seventh in the top flight in 2017/18, earning Europa League qualification.
He is the ideal man for the situation and will get Everton organized, resilient and with an improved work ethic. Dyche is majority owner Farhad Moshiri’s seventh managerial appointment since he bought into the club in February 2016. Now, the British-Iranian businessman must give the new coach time to prove himself.
Dyche will make the team work hard in training to get them fitter and this should show in matches. But the 51-year-old has been thrown in at the deep end. His first match is against table-toppers Arsenal at Goodison at the weekend followed by the Merseyside derby against bitter city rivals Liverpool. Nothing much is expected from those two fixtures but then come a run of games against Leeds, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Brentford. Everton must pick up points from these games if they are to save themselves from the dreaded drop, something the club has not experienced for 72 years. Only the Gunners have a lengthier stay in England’s top flight.
He has been given a two-and-a-half-year contract and takes over a team that are woefully goal shy but his first priority will be to get them to be harder to beat and far more competitive.
They sold Anthony Gordon to Newcastle but there is still plenty of attacking talent in the squad with the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Demarai Gray and Alex Iwobi and Dyche’s job will be to make them shine.
But he will be looking to get more out of his defensive midfielders to help solidify the team and he has several robust players to choose from including Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana and Abdoulay Doucoure. At the back, the coach has former Burnley defenders James Tarkowski and Michael Keane whom he knows well. And then he has Dwight McNeil who arrived from Turf Moor in the summer but has struggled to adapt. Dyche oversaw his rise from the youth team to the first team and he can get the best out of the left midfielder once again.
Ginger Mourinho
There were more illustrious options out there for Everton such as Marcelo Bielsa and Thomas Tuchel but Dyche - nicknamed the Ginger Mourinho - is a no-nonsense, straight talking experienced coach who has more than enough in his locker to get Everton out of trouble.
The fans have had a miserable season and there have been several protests after matches calling for drastic changes. The club is at an all-time low right now but the connection with the fans can grow very quickly because Everton have one of the most passionate fan bases in the game.
Now Dyche will have to give them something to be passionate about, and fast.
