Sean Dyche has insisted Everton could not have worked any harder to make signings after they were the only club in the Premier League not to bring in any players in January.
New manager Dyche takes over a squad without Anthony Gordon, who was sold to Newcastle for £40m, and lacking both attacking reinforcements – with Arnaut Danjuma agreeing to join on loan and instead going to Tottenham – and goals.
But he defended chairman Bill Kenwright and director of football Kevin Thelwell as he insisted he only wanted signings who could have strengthened his side and said Everton had made bids for players.
Dyche said: “I managed to get here Saturday and all I have seen is hard work, particularly in the recruitment area: the owner, the chairman, Kev, myself, I have been leaving here late at night, Kev was on the phone constantly, the chairman was on the phone constantly. I saw it, I was there. It is fair to say loads of phone calls were made and offers were put in.”
The former Burnley manager suggested players who are available on free transfers are unlikely to join now because they probably are not good enough.
He explained: “Sometimes players are there for a reason, there is a reason they are not at clubs.”
Dyche believes there is enough talent in the squad he inherited from Frank Lampard to mean he did not have to buy anyone else. “The things that get overlooked is they have to be better than what we have here,” he added.
“I think we have some very talented players here and I have never been one for signing players for the sake of signing them. I am not going to sign players for the sake of signing them and never see them again. They have to be good enough to affect it.”
Everton are 19th in the table and Dyche accepted they deserve to be in the relegation zone now.
He said: “The table doesn’t lie. We are there for a reason and it is how we correct it. I think there are some very good players here, maybe not performing at the level they can.”
His formula to get Everton out of trouble is based on putting effort in. “I don’t think you have got magic dust,” he said. “It comes from hard work, the players are the ones that turn it around.”
