Sean Dyche admits ‘truth’ message to Everton squad amid points deduction appeal
Sean Dyche has now opened up on the ‘truth’ message the Everton manager gave his players as the Goodison Park natives appeal the Premier League’s 10 point deduction.
The Toffees confirmed at the start of December that the Merseyside outfit had appealed the penalty. An independent commission dealt Everton the biggest punishment seen in Premier League history after the Blues registered losses of £124.5m between 2019/20 and 2021/22.
Premier League rules allow clubs to record losses of up to £105m across three seasons. But Everton fell foul of its rules after the Goodison Park side recorded losses in a fifth successive season. The penalty dropped Dyche’s squad from 14th in the Premier League table to 19th.
Everton have been in brilliant form since their penalty, winning four of their six games with nine goals scored. The Toffees now sit in 17th place but would be 10th without the penalty. Dyche’s team would also be just three points behind Newcastle, having played a match less.
An appeals board will now hear Everton’s case for their Premier League points deduction to be scrapped before the end of this season. It could propel the Toffees into the mix to qualify for Europe or avoid a relegation fight, having fought at the bottom for the past two seasons.
Everton have not played in Europe since crashing out of the 2017/18 Europa League during the group stage. They took one win and a draw through six games to finish seven points off the top two spots. Sam Allardyce took their win with a 3-0 result away to Apollon Limassol.
But while a return to Europe may be in Everton’s sight without the points deduction, Dyche has told the Blues players that the ‘truth’ right now is that they are still in a relegation fight. So, their current standing is the only thing worth the Toffees focusing on whilst they appeal.
“There’s no point because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Dyche said, via quotes by the Mirror. “It is what it is. I’ve told the players to look at where we are because that is the truth of it now.
“That’s it. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We didn’t know it was going to happen the first time. Trust me, everyone’s eyes were wide open on that. The eyes of everyone in football was.
“Who knows? The only thing we can guarantee is what’s happening now. We can’t guarantee the next steps of the appeal. We have got to wait and see.”
