The stick I got from Everton fans was totally undeserved - I am not really bothered now

Graeme Sharp has admitted he does not envisage returning to Everton - and says he’s lost interest.

Sharp is one of the club’s greatest-ever players, scoring 150 goals in 412 appearances. During his 11-year spell, he helped the Toffees win two league titles, the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

However, Sharp has not attended a Goodison Park game in more than 18 months since he served as a non-executive director. Before a fixture against Southampton in January 2023, the Everton board were advised not to attend based on safety reasons. Sharp, CEO Denise Barrett Baxendale and chief finance and strategy officer Grant Ingles left their roles at the end of the season after the Blues secured Premier League survival.

Supporters had conducted peaceful protests against majority owner Farhad Moshiri and the club’s hierarchy calling for widespread change, with the club in a relegation battle the previous campaign amid suffering significant financial losses off the pitch.

Next year marks the 40th anniversary of Everton winning the First Division and European Cup Winners’ Cup and talk is afoot of Howard Kendall’s squad reuniting at Goodison. But Sharp has ruled himself out. “Some of the things that went on with the protests, it was OTT,” he told our sister title The Scotsman.

“The amount of people that’s spoken to me, saying it’s a minority, which I understand. It’s just stuck with me. I’ve lost a bit of the … .appetite. [People say]: You have to come to this game, you have to come to that game..’ I am not really bothered now. To be fair, Sean Dyche, the manager, has been great. He has asked me on numerous occasions to go up to the training ground, all credit to him for that.

“You know what? I lost interest a bit. Whether that comes back, it remains to be seen. I doubt it. I just think the way things happened, it’s a difficult one. To be treated the way we were, was awful. People don’t know what went on but they were quick to make a judgement and could not be further from the truth. I just think the stick that I got was totally undeserved, and I thought – nah, I don’t need it.”