Phil Neville sends hint to Everton board over Sean Dyche

Phil Neville says Everton have “the best manager” in place in Sean Dyche but warned the club’s hierarchy “that something needs to change” to get the club moving in the right direction.

The Toffees narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship last term under Frank Lampard, but the Chelsea legend was sacked in January with the club mired in a battle against the drop once again.

Former Burnley boss Dyche was appointed his successor and Everton have won four of 15 Premier League matches under his leadership, the most recent of which was the 5-1 drubbing of Brighton on Monday 8 May.

Everton are still only two points clear of the drop with three games to play but former captain Neville says Dyche is the man to trust going forward.

“I think the league table over a period of time never lies. You get out of it what you put into it and it’s not the first season they have struggled,” Neville told Sky Sports News, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

“The next run of games are vital. It’s really tight down the bottom.

“I love that football club and I hope they stay in the Premier League, but you think about the consistency of them being down the bottom and something needs to change. I think they’ve got the best manager in place now and he suits the values of Everton Football Club that I played for.

“When you think about what Frank did last year, keeping them in the Premier League, they never really built on that. I think that’s the key.”

In Dyche Everton must trust

On the face of it, a return of four wins, five draws, and six defeats from 15 Premier League matches under Dyche is mixed at best.

But the issues at Goodison Park stretch way beyond the dugout. Fan apathy with the club’s hierarchy has reached boiling point on more than one occasion this season and fixing the fractious relationship with the fanbase has to be a top priority.

Part of that, of course, is providing a team on the pitch to get behind. The need to balance the books has been well documented so fixing the squad over the next transfer window will be no easy feat.

Which is why Everton have to stick long-term with Dyche, a canny operator as a coach but also with player signings.

Plenty needs to change at Goodison Park, but chopping and changing the manager again is not going to end a cycle of mediocrity that has engulfed the club for the best part of two seasons.

For now, at least, Neville is right – it has to be a case of in Dyche we trust.