SO SAD;Dyche job ‘safe’ despite winless start to season

Everton manager Sean Dyche’s job is currently safe despite a wretched start to the season which has left the club winless and bottom of the Premier League.

Club sources have told BBC Sport the 53-year-old has credit in the bank from his 20 months in charge, in which he steered them away from relegation.

The Toffees were beaten 3-2 at Aston Villa on Saturday and have lost their first four games of a season for the first time in 66 years, but Dyche retains the backing of the club’s hierarchy.

The former Burnley boss has also entered the final 12 months of his contract at Goodison Park.

Everton are in the process of a takeover bid by American businessman John Textor and it remains to be seen whether Dyche’s services will be retained should a deal be completed.

Saturday’s defeat by Villa was the second consecutive match they have lost after being 2-0 ahead.

Dyche, who kept Everton up last season despite the club receiving deductions totalling eight points for breaching Premier League financial rules, said after the match: “I didn’t come into this season thinking everything was solved because we finished strong last season, absolutely not.

“There’s massive challenges ahead we need to correct and that’s my job and my responsibility.”

Crystal Palace co-owner Textor has been granted a period of exclusivity as he aims to buy Blues owner Farhad Moshiri’s majority stake in the club.

Any deal is dependent on the American selling his 45% stake in Palace as Premier League rules prohibit individuals from owning more than one team.

The 58-year-old said he has received two “good bids” for his Palace stake and has a contract with Moshiri to complete a deal for Everton by a deadline of 30 November.

“We have done well with the game-plan. We have absorbed, countered, and scored from a set-piece.