Sean Dyche said he would have taken the situation now facing Everton given the state of the club upon his arrival as manager.
Dyche was appointed with the Blues languishing three points from safety having collected just 15 points from their opening 20 matches. And nearly four months on, Everton go into the final day two points clear of the relegation places and knowing a win against Bournemouth will guarantee Premier League survival.
Dyche said he was “under no illusions” about the circumstances he inherited in late January and that given them, along with the injuries and suspensions he has also been forced to deal with, he would have accepted now being in this position.
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Speaking ahead of Sunday's crucial game with Bournemouth, Dyche said: “It’s easy to forget, isn’t it? I came here and they were three points inside the relegation zone. Now we are two points out of it. Five points doesn’t sound a lot but when you factor in all the injuries that we have had and what has gone on, you would have taken it.
“Many people were saying then that we were done. We have shifted considerably but the biggest measure is the end of the season. I don’t go back on my words. The most important league table is the final one. That’s the one that is left.”
Dyche’s first match in charge came against then league-leaders Arsenal in early February at Goodison Park. The Blues overturned the form book to earn a deserved win and then defeated relegation rivals Leeds United in their next home game.
Despite an upturn in form and an overhaul of what had been a dismal away record - the Blues will end this season unbeaten in their final four fixtures on the road - Dyche’s tenure has not been straightforward. Damaging defeats to Fulham and Aston Villa stunted progress while collapses at Arsenal and at home to Newcastle United enhanced fears of relegation.
Some of the struggles have come when the side has been hit by absences, most notably that of Dominic Calvert-Lewin through a hamstring injury and Abdoulaye Doucoure through suspension; the loss of key players highlighting the lack of depth in the squad.
Those losses, and others - with Calvert-Lewin, Nathan Patterson, Seamus Coleman and Ben Godfrey among the players unavailable for Bournemouth - have presented challenges. Dyche said: “It’s been the same since we got here because since we got here we haven’t had a settled side.
“The first side I put out was probably when I thought, ‘yeah, that side can operate’, and it’s virtually never been the same since. It’s been close a couple of times, Dom had a little run of games and stuff like that but every week has been adapting, every week has been looking and adapting and learning and trying and pushing and pulling and working out what ticks everyone’s boxes - you can't just work on one player, you have to work on everyone as a group.
“So I think that is a theme that has been going on since I got here because the challenge has been quite evident to you all, mainly the injuries, the suspension to Douc… It has been varying conditions of flex and change. It can happen.”
Dyche said he was fully aware of the scenario he walked into and the scale of the challenge that lay ahead, though, adding: “I am a realist. I’m a logicist. I came here under no illusions at all. I saw the squad, saw the predicament, knew what was happening and knew it was probably going to be a big challenge.
“I never shied away from it and hope you agree I have made no excuses. These are the realities. One more game to look after ourselves and then reflect and move forward.”
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