“I am a bit of a marmite manager,” said Sean Dyche and if marmite, with an old-fashioned air and a defiantly British feel, may have been an even more appropriate description than he intended, he arrived at Everton with a few admissions. “Not everyone wants me,” said Dyche. “Some managers get a head start because of a pre-loaded view. I’ve never asked for that.” In his own estimation, Everton might not have wanted him but a run of 11 defeats in 14 games and the possibility of a first relegation in 72 years. “Possibly if it wasn’t in the shape it was in, maybe I wouldn’t get the chance,” he said. “But I don’t mind that.”
Dyche was the unfashionable option but, while Marcelo Bielsa proposed taking over the Under-21s and potentially letting the senior side sink towards the Championship, probably the common-sense choice. He may have marked his arrival by conforming to an image for unsympathetic toughness by insisting on training in shin pads and not hats, but to him it is entirely logical.
