Everton have announced the appointment of former Burnley boss Sean Dyche as their new manager to replace Frank Lampard.
Lampard was sacked last Monday after a run of nine defeats in 12 Premier League matches and Dyche has taken over after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract at Goodison Park.
Former Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa was in the running to become Everton’s eighth permanent manager since Farhad Moshiri took ownership of the club in 2016 but, following extended negotiations, it became apparent the Argentinian’s proposals did not match those of the club’s.
Both had talks with the club on Thursday before the focus turned to Dyche and the 51-year-old is the man Everton have decided to put their faith in to guide them to safety amid a second successive relegation battle.
A statement from the club read: “Everton Football Club can confirm the appointment of Sean Dyche as the club’s new men’s senior team manager.
“Dyche has agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract until June 2025 and will take charge for the first time for the Blues’ Premier League clash against Arsenal at Goodison Park on Saturday February 4.”
Ian Woan, Steve Stone and Mark Howard have also joined the club as part of Dyche’s backroom staff.
Dyche spent 10 years at Burnley, winning two promotions from the Championship and even securing a seventh-place top-flight finish to take the club into Europe, but was sacked last April with the Clarets embroiled in a relegation scrap from which they failed to escape.
He had been linked with the Everton job previously, most recently after Carlo Ancelotti’s departure in the summer of 2021 before Rafael Benitez’s ill-advised appointment.
Everton’s dilemma in their deliberations was wanting a manager who could arrest their steep decline since 2015 and re-establish the long-term consistency seen in their 11 years under David Moyes, but also requiring someone who could have an immediate impact and get them out of their current predicament.
Dyche said: “It’s an honour to become Everton manager. My staff and I are ready and eager to help get this great club back on track.
“I know about Everton’s passionate fanbase and how precious this club is to them. We’re ready to work and ready to give them what they want.
“That starts with sweat on the shirt, effort and getting back to some of the basic principles of what Everton Football Club has stood for for a long time.”
Reports on Friday claimed Bielsa had wanted to bring eight members of his backroom team with him and not take over the side immediately, instead working with the under-21s and academy before assuming control in the summer.
That scenario, added to his earlier suggestions he did not believe Everton’s current squad was suited to his methods, persuaded the club to move on.
Dyche, who may have been criticised for his style of football at Turf Moor but worked wonders on a limited budget and kept Burnley in the top flight for five years against the odds, fits the bill for their current situation.
His start is a tough one with Premier League leaders Arsenal visiting Goodison Park next Saturday before he makes the short trip to Anfield for the Merseyside derby.
Chairman Bill Kenwright said: “Kevin (Thelwell, director of football) and I spent some valuable time with Sean over the past few days and he quickly convinced me that he has exactly the right attributes to make himself a great Everton manager – and a man who could inspire our fanbase. And Farhad felt the same when he met him, too.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here