Dyche previews Everton - Fulham as injured players return
24/10/2024
Finch Farm Training centre, Liverpool, UK
24/10/2024
Finch Farm Training centre, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Good afternoon everyone, welcome to our pre-match press conference to preview our gaming out
00:24form, we'll start off with Vinny from Sky.
00:26Before we look ahead to the game, Sean, just wanted to get your thoughts on the football
00:30governance bill, whether you feel it's needed, what is your overall impression?
00:34I think at the moment we're waiting on more news, what possibly might come out of it and
00:39then I think the whole of football will take a view and certainly the club will, I would
00:43imagine.
00:44A bit of housekeeping, have you spoken to the prospective new owners yet?
00:46Nope, I keep getting asked but nope, that hasn't changed since last week, the week before
00:52that and the week before that and the week before that.
00:54We will talk about football then now.
00:55Where are we at as regards potentially getting players back, I'm thinking Brosia, Chimiti,
00:59have you got a timeline on them at the moment, is Brantwick ready to return, I take it Lindstrom
01:03is back from illness, James Garner okay?
01:06Jimmy Garner waiting on more news, just a specialist view on a back injury, so wait
01:11on that.
01:12Brosia is getting on the edge of coming into training, he's doing loads of work with the
01:16sports science team but not yet, soft start for him and see where that goes but hopeful
01:22that that will continue because he's making good progress.
01:25Chimiti is making progress but obviously it's a very strange injury which I mentioned about
01:30the tendon coming off the big toe, very odd injury but he is beginning to make progress
01:35but he's still a number of weeks away, that's for sure.
01:38Have you got a timeline on Tim Irobina as well?
01:41Well looking at weeks, certainly weeks because of the type of injury it is, a bony injury
01:48obviously so we've just got to wait for it, he's certainly still in a boot at the moment,
01:52they don't use casts now, it's an actual boot that protects it, just waiting on that to
01:56heal and then get back to training but it is going to be a number of weeks still yet.
02:01I wanted to ask about Dele just because we saw him in the boot room before we spoke to
02:04you a little bit earlier on, he seemed very smiley, so where's he at?
02:08Yeah, he's just getting back on the grass again, so building up again from another minor
02:13sort of injury but unfortunately it costs him a bit more time and he's just getting
02:18on with trying to get fit.
02:19So it's four games unbeaten now, first away win since December, back-to-back clean sheets
02:22as well, is the next step back-to-back wins?
02:26Well you certainly want to do that, a few of them have shown themselves more than capable
02:30but we've suddenly found ourselves in a better position not only in the league but in the
02:36way that we're going about things, people getting fit, truly fit, Premier League fit
02:40as I talk about and I think that sharpness has come with certain performers and I think
02:46we've done well over the last four games, played better in some than others but found
02:50our way to get results.
02:51So what kind of a test do Fulham represent?
02:53Well I think they've done very well and Marco and you know they've collected a group of
02:59players, they've spent money but it seems to me they've spent wisely on the most part,
03:03certainly from the outside looking in and I think they've got a style where they can
03:07progress, they want to be progressive, they want to take on the opposition, also they
03:12can have flat days when it goes against them so we've got to make sure that we impact the
03:16game in that manner, to make them have a flat day, not just wait for it and we perform.
03:20Does it come into the thinking just finally that you can't go level on points with them?
03:25It doesn't really come into the thinking, I think it probably just changes some of the
03:28storylines from early season which if I look we didn't win games and then you get eight
03:34points out of four games and everyone looks at it slightly differently so I think it just
03:37changes the story and gives it a more positive feel, we wouldn't do it just for that reason
03:42quite obviously but I think it's helpful if there's a bit more positivity around what
03:45goes on at Everton and that's what we're trying to do, off the pitch is bring that positive
03:49feel but on the pitch we've got to do that with getting continued results.
03:53How much better does everyone feel for this run of results that you've had, how much more
04:01confidence is there?
04:02Yeah I think, you know I've spoken about it a lot since I got here, there seems to always
04:06be that cloud waiting around Everton Football Club on or off the pitch and I think we've
04:10had really strong spells of pushing it all away and then it's come back our way and I
04:14think all it does is give a better feel to everything and everyone, me included of course,
04:20I've got to guide it all and it hurts, it's a real knock when you're not winning games
04:27but that's what builds your resilience to sit here and do what I do and I've had to
04:32build that over the years and the players have had to build that as well and I think
04:36we're showing signs of coming through it, like I say we're not the real deal, it's never
04:39a given that we're ready for taking on the world but I think we're showing that we're
04:44once again a capable outfit and we can win games at the Premier League.
04:49The attacking players in particular, what difference does confidence make to them and
04:53your day-to-day job in preparing them for the matches?
04:57Well questions have been asked at both ends of the pitch, early season and we're correcting
05:02somewhat with a couple of clean sheets and scoring goals and especially getting goals
05:08from other parts of the pitch I think is helpful as well.
05:10I've always said it's not just strikers, we appreciate we want them to score but it's
05:14not just them and I don't think we're over-analysing it at the minute, the players feel in the
05:20right place, the training was good again today, I mentioned it, the feel of the group, fitness
05:25helps, players coming back to full fitness and with all due respect to the younger players
05:30it's not the same as when you look around as a first-team player and you see all the
05:33depth when it is there, we haven't got a huge squad but the depth when everyone's fit and
05:37that competitive element, so I think all of them things go into it but there's certainly
05:40a good feel around the group at the moment.
05:42I know you've talked a little bit already about White playing in this No. 10 role but
05:46just how much difference is it making to the way that you approach matches, having him
05:51in that role and the way that he seems to be thriving doing it as well?
05:54Yeah it's something that we've played around with at my previous club at Burnley and then
05:58when I got here he was doing such a good job wide, just a different way of giving a technical
06:02approach, couldn't find as many goals early season what we were hoping for, Duke's done
06:06a great job in there and currently doing a good job slightly deeper, Illy's come in and
06:11done really well on the left which frees that role up a little bit, so he's enjoying it
06:15I think, I think there's still a lot for him to learn particularly on the defensive side
06:19of the game but in attack we know he can score, we know he can set goals up, he's shown that
06:24and he's got a very strong left foot so if we get him in the right areas it's fair to
06:28say I think he'll score more goals.
06:30Like you say you had done it at Burnley previously, not so much here, what is it about his qualities
06:35that mean he's suited to playing this role for you?
06:38Well he's still finding his way somewhat but I think he's very technical, he can carry
06:42the ball out of tight areas and he can find a pass and of course assisting and finding
06:48goals as well but if you've got that technical quality and you can find them pockets to play
06:52in, he's full of energy, he can break the back lines, he's definitely quicker than people
06:56think and you know he could grow into that role and like I say we'd always looked at
07:01it, we looked at it last season, we looked at it when I first got here but finding the
07:04right role for the team don't forget, it's not just about him as a player, what can the
07:08team or what does the team need and they've been doing such a strong job for us in the
07:11wide areas that we had to rely on in there, this season we felt we needed a change, a
07:16bit of a different feel and spoke with the staff about it, spoke with the player about
07:19it but like I say he's still learning in that role but I think he's showing good signs
07:22that he can develop that role and still, as last week, he has to adjust and go back wide
07:26when we need him to do that as well.
07:28Historically, is it something that Dwight's asked to do or is it something that you and
07:31your coaching staff have dictated to him?
07:33No, I think like I say we played it a long time ago actually when he was younger at Burnley
07:38a few times and I remember particularly once away at Palace, I think it was in the pandemic,
07:42he did very well playing in that role, we'd looked at it here a couple of times and shifted
07:46it during games and I just thought it was time for a change, sometimes it gives the
07:50team a different dynamic, when you just move one player it can have a big effect on the
07:54rest of the team and I think he's enjoying the challenge of what it is.
08:02A couple of players that have been questioned on social media have been Michael Keane and
08:06Ashley Young, how impressed have you been with them in the last few weeks?
08:09I've been impressed, not about me in question, I've been impressed with them since I've known
08:13them both a long time, Youngie made his debut with me many moons ago at Watford and Keane
08:19obviously was a young player or a younger player when I was at Burnley with him and
08:22I signed him there, so I don't need to worry about that side of things, that's just modern
08:26society, modern life, I don't think it's ideal for players but there it is, that's the way
08:30it goes. I think their professionalism has been outstanding ever since I've been at the
08:35club and I bought Youngie in. They just continue to get out there, play, play hard, work hard,
08:41train hard, all the things you'd want from proper professionals and they certainly are
08:45proper professionals.
08:46What is it about Ashley Young's professionalism and keeping in shape that he can still do it?
08:51You can't keep doing it without the edge and he's certainly still got that competitive
08:56edge, that's the biggest thing you look for as a manager nowadays, these players are super
09:00fit, they look after themselves beyond belief and I think they've got that competitive edge
09:05and that competitive spirit, I think that's the truth of it and I spoke to him in the
09:08summer, he could have easily, he's not short of wealth and all that sort of stuff, he could
09:13have easily walked away but he said no, no, I feel like I've got that edge, I still want
09:17to play and I said yeah, okay, so we spoke to him about him staying and he stayed and
09:22there he is again, filling holes, playing different positions and certainly the last
09:26few games he's done very well.
09:27Is he someone you lean on as a leader in that dressing room?
09:31I think he just naturally gets about his business, he's got a great old school thing about him
09:37in the sense of, I mean he's very modern to look after himself but just gets out there
09:41and does it, you know players nowadays are with 15 rubs and 15 of this and 15 of that
09:45and 14 different tie-ups and 57 stretches just to get out there training, trust me he
09:50just runs out there and goes come on then, let's go, it's brilliant, I love that, I wish
09:54them days were back more often but everyone needs something now.
09:58Have you seen some of the players a bit soft nowadays?
10:01No, not at all, they're your words, not mine, I just said they need a lot more to get them
10:05out there to train, some valid, some routines are valid, some I'm always wondering, really?
10:10Do you really need that just to go out and train?
10:12I doubt it.
10:13During the summer Thomas Frank was asked which managers he takes inspiration from past and
10:19present, you mentioned Johan Cruyff and you also named Shep to yourself, how proud does
10:25it make you?
10:27I certainly don't think I'm up there with Johan Cruyff but he's a manager I get on very
10:32well with personally, I like a lot what he does, when we do get a chance to speak we
10:36speak openly about what we see as the truth rather than perception of the game and our
10:41roles and what we do, likewise I admire a lot of what he's done from his humble backgrounds
10:46in coaching to where he is now.
10:49I find him very good company, I find him very informed about what the game is and what it
10:53is and I think he's another one, he's not really, in my experience of him anyway, talking
10:58to me, he's not really bothered about the noise, you should do this, you should do that,
11:01you should play this way, you should play that way, he always speaks to me and we always
11:04share a view of win, how do you find a way of winning?
11:07If you can do it with amazing football, great, but if you can't, how are you going to win?
11:10And I don't think he loses sight of that and I certainly don't, so we get on very well
11:14and I have a lot of respect for him as a person and as a football manager.
11:17Do you think he's got what it takes to step up to the bigger?
11:22Well we'll see, there's so many managers out there now linked with jobs but he certainly
11:27has been and rightly so, it'd be good to see if it does happen, I'd be the first to
11:32congratulate him but let's not show any disrespect to the club he's at, they've been amazing
11:36for him as much as he has for them and the job that Brentford have done in getting to
11:39where they've got to, sometimes it's forgotten.
11:41A lot of people there, Matt Penham included, have done a lot of work there to get him to
11:44where he's got to and Thomas has played his part within all of that, no doubt about it.
11:48And as someone you've gotten with so much, does it make it more a difficult game or just
11:53stand business as usual?
11:55With who, sorry?
11:56With Thomas.
11:57I'm not bothered by that, he wants to win, I want to win, end of.
12:06You mentioned there about building resilience, so if you look at the season so far it was
12:10four defeats and then four games without a defeat and since you've been here you and
12:15the players have probably had to work on resilience given lots of things that have gone on, a
12:19lot of it out of your control.
12:21After those four defeats, everyone, we're all asking you about it, asking you about
12:26stats, did you have to draw on that resilience?
12:28Is that a point where you did a reset?
12:31No, not really.
12:32I think it's not just resilience, it's reality.
12:34The thing is, with your role as a manager, especially after my years of doing it, you
12:38learn about the realities and sometimes the outside perception is not the reality and
12:42you know what really is.
12:44So you've got to manage that yourself wisely because the outside noise can get very powerful
12:48nowadays but you've got to see through all that, as I call it, and look into what the
12:52truth of the story is and I know the truth from inside.
12:55I know some of the challenges you have with players, players' fitness, players' form,
12:59some personal things as well.
13:00You've got to remember they're people.
13:02People think, well they get paid a lot of money, I hear that all the time, why don't
13:05they just get on with it?
13:06It's not as simple as that.
13:07They're still people, they still have lives.
13:09So there's a lot going on behind what the perception is.
13:12So you're managing that but never losing sight of the fact that no-one cares.
13:15The job is getting to win, that's it.
13:17You've never lost sight of that.
13:18So when it goes against you, I understand it, I understand some of the questions, I
13:22understand the noise, I understand the negativity that builds quickly but that's part of the
13:26job.
13:27If you don't want that, don't do it because I warn all the young managers when they come
13:31into it if they choose to speak to me.
13:33I say be ready for when it's not so good.
13:35Everyone can handle the winning, everyone can handle that bit but can you handle the
13:38winning when you're not winning?
13:39That's the truth really, in the longer run that is.
13:42Can I just check, is Jared Brandway in contention for this one?
13:46He's trained all week, we made a call, I made a call actually on it last week, decided
13:50not to go with him being fit even for the squad because I think it was important for
13:54him to have a week's training, a clear week's training which he has done.
13:57So yes, he'll certainly be a part of the squad.
13:59So with that, there are reports about James Tarkovsky having a bit of a back problem maybe
14:04this season.
14:05Could you rotate your centre-backs now?
14:07You've got almost a luxury of having some more available.
14:10Four very good centre-backs all fighting for the shirt.
14:14That will look after itself.
14:17Beto hasn't featured in the last four Premier League games.
14:20What more does he have to show you that he could either come off the bench or take effect?
14:24He just has to continue to learn.
14:25Dom's a very good player, we know that.
14:27I think he's active and he's looking active, he's looking bright.
14:29I know a couple of the chances haven't gone in but he's getting great chances and great
14:32moments in games.
14:34Beto has to keep working at his game.
14:37Michael Keane, I saw some quotes from him talking about, I know a lot of people say
14:42he's got a fantastic strike on him and we've seen evidence of that.
14:45We saw it at the weekend again.
14:47Given you've known him a long time, I know he said he wasn't massively keen on becoming
14:51a striker.
14:52Did you ever have that conversation with him and have you had it in more recent times about
14:55moving him about?
14:56We threw him on the season before.
15:00We threw him on up front a few times just to try and disturb the game a little bit.
15:05But we know if it lands in the box he's a calmer finisher as I've seen.
15:08And I think he's one of them who enjoys scoring a goal.
15:11He doesn't look nervous in front of the goal, he just looks as calm as you like, as calm
15:14as a person he often is actually.
15:16So it's a great skill to have.
15:17So we know he's a threat.
15:18At my previous club he was a threat from set-pieces.
15:20We know since I've been here he's been a threat from set-pieces.
15:23Smashed him in against Tottenham, wasn't it?
15:26Yeah, smashed him in from there and you think, yeah, it doesn't surprise me.
15:29And he finished the other day, it didn't surprise me.
15:30His calmness on the other hand at Burnley last season, he misses the first one, slots
15:34the second.
15:35He's a good weapon to have in the box but he's certainly a figure I think can get more
15:38goals when he's playing of course.
15:41Thanks, Julian.
15:42We'll go to Will.
15:46Hi, Sean.
15:47Just to clarify on Jesper, is he back as well, Jesper Lindstrom?
15:49Yeah, yeah, he's over his illness, yeah.
15:51Just knocked him back for a few days.
15:53Just on Brogier, obviously he's had this Achilles issue he's arrived with.
15:58Under-21s, I mean, it's going to be important for him.
16:00When do you think he might be able to get back?
16:02Certainly not for a couple of weeks yet, I don't think.
16:04But he's going along very well and he's strong, he looks strong and he's running.
16:08But he needs a training period now to get him to the point of games.
16:11What do you think he'll give you?
16:12Because it did come as a little bit of a surprise when he arrived on deadline.
16:15Yeah, I mean, we don't know until we really know him.
16:17Because we haven't seen him, well, we've seen him running around but not in a football capacity
16:22and not in a way that you can really tell.
16:24I know a bit about his past, obviously.
16:26I've played against him, seen him play.
16:28I think he looks to me, or what I've seen of him before when he's played against an
16:32all-round striker, he's a big fella, he's got good movement, he's got probably better
16:37pace than people think and he's certainly fit by the looks of things, as in looking
16:41after himself.
16:42I want him to come and enjoy what it is, to wear the shirt.
16:45But he's got to earn it first and he'll be well aware of that.
16:47Alex Iwobi's coming back a player at you, Souls, because of...
16:51Say that again?
16:52Alex Iwobi's coming back a player at you, Souls, because of...
16:53Yes.
16:54At the time you said you didn't particularly want to sell him but it made sense for the deal.
16:58Yeah, it was a very good deal for the club.
17:00I thought he was an excellent servant in my time here.
17:04I enjoyed having him around the place.
17:05I thought he was a joy to work with.
17:07A very good player in my opinion.
17:09Not one that I wanted to lose but he needs most of that time and it was a good fee for
17:12a good player.
17:13Just on the grander scheme, you have had to do that, the club have had to do that, sell
17:16players to help with the financial situation.
17:19Is there life at the end of the tunnel?
17:20Do you see that coming towards an end?
17:22Not at the moment, but obviously we don't know what's going to happen if this takeover
17:26goes through.
17:27So we're waiting on news of that.
17:28But at the moment it's still, as I would imagine, that you can see we've had to still
17:32cut costs and keep fees low, bring in more than we're putting out and that sort of thing.
17:36So we'll have to wait and see on that.
17:38And just finally, a few fans noticed Dominic at the end of the episode of the game.
17:41You saw support, it looked like he went straight down the tunnel.
17:43Was that just because he was frustrated, he missed a couple of chances do you think?
17:46I don't know.
17:47I just gave the fans a clap and walked off as I normally do.
17:50So I'm not sure about that but I certainly didn't know anything any different than him
17:54just getting on with what he does.
17:56I didn't notice whether he went over or not to be honest.
17:59Thanks Will.
18:00Any further questions in the open section?