'Elite mentality' - Simon Jordan makes 'Manchester City' claim about Everton boss
The Everton boss has done extremely well under the circumstances this season.
Simon Jordan believes that Sean Dyche has the mentality needed to succeed at an elite club such as Manchester City after keeping Everton in the Premier League once again.
The Toffees have battled points deductions and off-the-pitch financial issues but have ended up winning more games than Brighton and managing the fourth-best defence in the league. It’s an incredible achievement given the circumstances and Dyche has faced such issues head on with poise and a commanding attitude that has helped drive the club out of danger.
Dyche previously took Burnley to Europe on a shoestring budget and he has, once again, worked within such strained confines. The summer may bring further woes as up to eight players could exit and they may also be forced to sell one or two of their key assets, adding further pressure. Speaking on his podcast ‘Three Up Front’, Jordan claimed he could manage at an elite club like Man City because of the situations he has come through, he said: “Sean Dyche has done a remarkable job at Everton. He’s an elite manager operating in a different way to what we consider an elite manager to be.
“I don’t know if one of these so-called highfalutin managers like Mikel Arteta could go into Everton and get the team across the line with what he had to work with. Given the job that Dyche has done at Everton, I think that requires an elite set of thinking. I don’t think Everton, with the group of players that they’ve got, can play the way Manchester City can play.
“Do I think Sean Dyche could adapt to Man City? Yes. But there would be a perception that he wasn’t a ‘sexy’ manager, so subsequently everyone would be all over him and looking at him waiting for the first chink to appear.
“Conversely, could you stick Pep Guardiola or Arteta at Everton? You’d have to say to them you’ve got this group of players, you’ve got all of these problems going on off the pitch, you’ve got fans that are disenfranchised with the board, the owners on the way out, but get this team out of the trouble they’re in. I think that that takes an elite mentality.”