Sean Dyche Replaces Frank Lampard as Everton Manager

By Dipo Olowookere

Former manager of Burnley, Mr Sean Dyche, has been appointed as Everton manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract and now has the task of avoiding relegation to the Championship next season with the Toffees.

Frank Lampard was sacked as the manager of Everton this month after a 2-0 loss to West Ham in a league game, which left them 19th on the log.

The new boss at the Merseyside will want to restore confidence at the club and make an instant positive impact on Saturday, February 4, when his team faces Arsenal at Goodison Park.

“Kevin and I spent some valuable time with Sean over the past few days, and he quickly convinced me that he has exactly the right attributes to make himself a great Everton manager – and a man who could inspire our fanbase. And Farhad felt the same when he met him, too,” Everton Chairman, Mr Bill Kenwright, said of the appointment of Mr Dyche.

The retired footballer will be supported by former Nottingham Forest winger, Ian Woan, as his Assistant Manager, while ex-England international, Steve Stone, will serve as First-Team Coach, with Mark Howard joining the coaching staff.

“It’s an honour to become Everton manager. My staff and I are ready and eager to help get this great club back on track.

“I know about Everton’s passionate fanbase and how precious this club is to them. We’re ready to work and ready to give them what they want. That starts with sweat on the shirt, effort and getting back to some of the basic principles of what Everton Football Club has stood for a long time.

“We want to bring back a good feeling. We need the fans, we need unity, and we need everyone aligned. That starts with us as staff and players.

“Our aim is to put out a team that works, that fights and wears the badge with pride. The connection with the fans can then grow very quickly because they’re so passionate.

“There is quality in this squad. But we have to make them shine. That’s the job of my staff and me.

“We want to change the shape of this club going forward, remodel it in our style, but in a way that we can win. That’s the task in front of us – make sure we’re building, tactically and technically, giving players organisation, allowing them the freedom to play, to go and enjoy their football because it’s brilliant when the team’s playing with a smile, but we’ve got to win,” Mr Dyche said.

After a playing career as a centre-back spanning nearly two decades, Mr Dyche first became a coach at Watford, working his way up from the club’s under-18s to senior-team manager and guiding the Hornets to their best league position in four years in his first season in charge.

It was during almost 10 years at Burnley that he made his name as a top-class manager, building a competitive and energetic team that won promotion from the Championship in a record-breaking maiden campaign in 2013/14 and going on to consistently challenge the Premier League’s elite, helping the team finish seventh on the table in 2017/18 and qualifying for the Europa League.