Sean Dyche pays tribute to Bill Kenwright

Everton boss Sean Dyche pays tribute to chairman Bill Kenwright who passed away this week ahead of West Ham clash

Transcript

00:00 Yes, we sort of ran it as a group.

00:02 Obviously, some had a bigger connection with the chairman than others due to their time here,

00:06 particularly Seamus. Myself in a different way, obviously,

00:11 being quite close to him over a period that was difficult for him and his family as well with illness.

00:16 So, yes, it's a big loss, that's for sure.

00:18 The players have spoken about the text messages they used to receive off him.

00:22 The manager also received those kind of text messages as well.

00:25 Is there anything you can say to us?

00:27 No, he's always incredibly supportive.

00:31 I was reading some of Moyes' comments,

00:33 saying as a young manager how supportive he was.

00:35 He was supportive to me, an older manager, if you like, a bit more rounded in it.

00:41 And he was nothing but supportive, even through some hard times.

00:44 He's been someone to pick up the phone to,

00:49 always got time for you and always wanted to find out what was going on, really,

00:53 and get a touch base on what the feel in the camp was, the players, the mood, individuals.

00:59 And often telling me all of his wisdom about Everton Football Club and what we should be doing.

01:04 So, always in a supportive way, I must make that clear.

01:07 What were those pearls of wisdom?

01:09 No, I mean, last season was, it's fair to say that we shared a moment that is an odd big moment, of course,

01:16 because you don't want to be having big moments that are at the bottom of the league.

01:18 But to stay up on the last day in the fashion we did and to share that with him,

01:23 that was a big moment.

01:24 And he felt probably differently than me how big that was,

01:27 after a tough season and for many different reasons.

01:30 So, that was certainly a very big moment, one that he was very pleased with and very proud of.

01:33 You might have touched on it there, but I just wonder what the abiding memory of him for you will be?

01:39 Do you know, it's a bit of an odd one for me because there's the football side,

01:42 but a lot of what I learned about him was not actually the football side,

01:45 but the strength of what he'd done in the theatre.

01:48 I knew he was in that world, but I didn't realise how powerful it was

01:51 and how many lives he'd touched along the way and what he does on that side of his life,

01:55 not on the football side.

01:56 So, I think I was intrigued by that side of it,

01:59 some of the relationships he'd had with people and some famous people and stars

02:05 and some little quirky stories about people and that sort of thing.

02:08 So, I must say, just on the human level, I thought he was a perfect gentleman

02:14 and I always enjoyed listening to him about his stories about his own life,

02:18 not about necessarily just Everton Football Club and myself and the team.