FOOTBALL FOCUS

Money worries are not Dyche’s problem

SEAN DYCHE insists he’s not feeling any extra pressure about the financial future of Everton should they go down.

And the Toffees boss claims the club’s players are not feeling the weight of what dropping out of the top tier could do.

Everton are now five points clear of the relegation zone after they were handed four back on appeal, after an initial 10-point deduction.

But they still have another charge for breaching Premier League financial rules hanging over them.

Then there are their worrying accounts, spiralling new stadium costs and a delayed approval for their agreed takeover by the 777 group.

But Dyche insists he’s only focused on winning games and the financial wreck which could come from relegation is not his problem.

He said: “I certainly don’t feel the weight of the club, I don’t feel the weight of a new stadium, I don’t feel the weight of the history as in financial history.

“The shirt history? Yes, of Everton football club. The rest of it is not for me. That’s not for the players either and they know that 100 per cent.

“The players’ responsibility is not to know whether they’re building a new stadium or to cost it up.

Pressure

“Their responsibility is to try to win football matches. That is it in a nutshell. There is always pressure that comes with that.

“Pressure of building stadiums is the club’s pressure.”

As they prepare to host West Ham today, looking to move further clear of the bottom three, Dyche insisted the only heat on him is to win games

But he appeared to contradict himself in saying that there is so much going on at the club which is ‘forgotten’ about – including Russia’s war with Ukraine which forced Everton to lose key sponsors.

“People do forget that we are building that massive stadium and trying to be competitive, the fans also want players signing, and to win football matches, and you have to go into the financial fair play and there is a war going on,” he said.

“That’s not down to the players. That’s not their responsibility. I

“don’t send them onto the pitch and go, ‘By the way, there’s a new stadium coming.’

“There’s no pressure on that. I didn’t build the stadium but I think it is going to be amazing.

“I’m picking up the work of years at a football club, trying to put things in place.

“The Premier League want the grandeur, the kudos, the money and the fame.

Better

“That’s definitely not the responsibility of every player who walks on the pitch in an Everton shirt, it’s definitely not my responsibility as Everton football manager to do all of that.

“My responsibility stands firmly in this – getting the club in a better position than when I got it.”