Everton have played down prospective new owner John Textor's comments about being close to a takeover, insisting "there remains work to be done"; US businessman is in discussions with Toffees majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri over a deal to buy the club
Thursday 12 September 2024 15:32, UK
Everton manager Sean Dyche insists he is not concerned by prospective new owner John Textor questioning his suitability to work under the American if his bid is successful.
The United States businessman, who owns a 45 per cent share in Crystal Palace which he has to offload in order to be able to progress, is in discussions with Toffees majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri over a deal to buy the club.
Textor's decision to give a wide-ranging interview to Sky Sports in which he spoke about being able to complete his takeover before a November 30 deadline and raised a number of questions he wanted to ask Dyche about his ability to coach players from Botafogo - another of the clubs in the American's Eagle Football Group - has not been particularly well received at Goodison Park.
Talking about Dyche so specifically was of particular frustration and the manager's regular press conference to preview Saturday's trip to Aston Villa - live on Sky Sports - was postponed by 15 minutes in order for the club to issue a statement in which they distanced themselves from Textor's claims.
Dyche, who is in the final year of his contract, brushed aside concerns about his future.
"If you are the prospective owner, you probably want to build a relationship or certainly know the manager's thoughts in any situation," said the Toffees boss, whose side are bottom of the table without a point.
"He isn't the current owner but if he did take over then I am sure you'd have that conversation. But I think that is standard practice, it is not relevant to me.
"I don't think there is any uncertainty. I made it clear a month ago the bigger picture of the club is the main focus, and the club is still nowhere near where it wants to be.
"My situation is secondary to the one the club is in - we want to win games, that's my first thought. It is not about myself, not about the contract, it is about the staff and players aligning to win games.
"The ambition here changes weekly [with] different stories: it's going to be sold, it's not going to be sold, you're here, you're not here - I've heard it all since I've been here and I've only been here 20 months.
"But at the minute it is a volatile situation on and off the pitch with talk of ownership change, and on the pitch not getting the results we want to get."
Everton's statement said Textor's comments represented his personal view and "there remains some work to be done to complete the transaction".
In his interview Textor said the opportunity to become the new owner of Everton was like being asked if he would like to become the President of the United States.
He also said he would have preferred for the club to remain at Goodison Park rather than move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock next season.
The American, who is the fifth bidder to have been granted a period of exclusivity by Moshiri, added he had no plans to sack manager Dyche, but said: "I'd sit down with him at some point in the future and say that I'm going to bring him a very different profile of player from any corner of the world and ask him if he is interested. I'd ask him if he could coach this squad."
