It was as though he had not once had the time to stop and think about his impact at a club that was in turmoil when he was appointed. Given the events of the past year, he probably has not.
Following the pause, which came after he was asked what he took greatest pride in, he opened up: “Probably managing, handling, a lot of different situations all at one time. Often you might have something on the pitch, you might have something off the pitch, but it’s all there, all happening, 24/7 for months on end, and I think managing that whole situation. Because this club is slightly different.”
The answer was fitting because Dyche has had to be more than a football manager. He has had to be a politician, an accountant, a psychologist, a spokesman—he has to be everything, everywhere, all at once. Most importantly, during a time of chaos off the pitch, he has had to be a figurehead. Everton have been a football club in need of a leader, and through one of the rockiest periods in the club’s long history, he has typically been the only face exposed to public view, more often than not having to answer questions about problems not of his making.
“Some clubs employ a head coach who mainly just cares for the team, that is it”, he continued. “Here it has been a whole different ball game, it has been lots on the pitch, lots off the pitch, lots around the idea of the media and the messaging and trying to find the feel of the club, and contracts, finances, all sorts of different things, and they have all been in the melting pot—it has not been’ solve one, then another comes along’—it h has all been active at the same time. So I think I am managing and playing my part, because there are a lot of people here who all play a part, but I am often at the front of all of that, managing it and trying to be balanced, calm, and patient with it.”
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