Sean Dyche will always stand up for his abilities as a manager. Being trusted with a football club is a significant burden and taking a punt on an ambitious unknown isn't always the right move.
The Nottingham Forest manager is an experienced hand, having made a lasting impression at Burnley during some of the Clarets' best seasons of the modern era.
Dyche was a straightforward choice for Everton, replacing Frank Lampard in January 2023 with work to do to keep the Toffees in the Premier League. That didn't stop some observers preferring a riskier appointment.
Sean Dyche on his time as manager of Everton
"When the time came for the club to sack me, I made it clear I had nothing but pride in what we achieved at Everton, and that’s because of things like that deduction season," Dyche tells FourFourTwo.
"That was uncharted territory in the Premier League, so to come through it, keep the club up and stable, and to handle myself the way I did, it was an achievement.
"I don’t mean as a manager, but as myself. I was under a lot of pressure and had to answer to everything, things that had happened before I was even there.
"To do that the way I did, I’m very proud. I get that some Everton fans wanted a fashionista appointment, but I do think I was the right appointment.
"For what needed doing at that club, at that stage, I think I was the right person for the job."
The former Watford boss won 26 of his 84 league matches in charge at the Merseyside club, protecting Everton's status as a Premier League ever-present but ultimately parting ways after two years.
David Moyes returned to Everton to lead them into the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Dyche went back to Forest, where he was on the books as a young player, to take over as their third manager of the 2025/26 season.
His Everton record stands up to scrutiny but it was no revolution.
On the day Dyche was appointed, the Toffees were in 19th place in the Premier League with three wins from their first 20 matches of the 2022/23 season.
Everton avoided the drop by two points and one league place that year. They were much more comfortable in 2023/24 despite points deductions but football never stands still.
Dyche was sacked in January 2025 with Everton in 16th, one point above the relegation zone. Only a dismal Southampton side had won fewer matches.
