Everton boss Sean Dyche insists he would have taken the current scenario going into the final day of the Premier League season given the situation he inherited in January, as the Merseysiders, Leeds United and Leicester City gear up for D-day. The three clubs will see their fates settled tomorrow and only one can escape joining Southampton and dropping into the Championship.
Everton are favourites to survive as they are two points ahead of the Whites and the Foxes meaning their fate is in their own hands, with a win against Bournemouth at Goodison Park enough to keep them up regardless of what happens elsewhere. But they could also draw - or even lose - and still stay up, depending on how the other two clubs get on, while Leeds and Leicester know they must win their respective games tomorrow to have any chance of surviving, and even that might not be enough.
When Dyche took over, Everton were in the relegation zone, three points from safety, and the ex-Burnley manager says at that point he would have taken their current position if offered. He said: "It's easy to forget, isn't it?
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"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."
It has been an uphill struggle at Everton, with Dyche overseeing just four wins in his 17 games in charge. But he says he knew the size of the challenge he was taking on when he succeeded Frank Lampard.
"I am a realist," he said. "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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