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Sean Dyche says Everton and the rest of the footballing world have finally received clarity and can move forward after the club were handed four points of the 10 deducted for financial breaches back on appeal.
The Toffees were docked 10 points in November for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and overspending the permitted losses of £105million in a three-year rolling period by £19.5m. That was reduced to six points on appeal this week.
Dyche had been vocal in how Everton could not settle while the case and subsequent appeal hung over them, with them and other clubs unable to forecast how many points they needed to achieve objectives this season due to uncertainty.
But the Everton boss says they are now happy to receive clarity. ‘We’re pleased we have got something back, obviously,’ said Dyche this afternoon, talking before the club’s fixture against West Ham on Saturday at Goodison Park.
‘You are always greedy and want more and more but the points the club put forward have been listened to and we have got the four points back. We will take that and now it brings clarity to the situation, which is good for us and the players but good for all actually.
Sean Dyche has welcomed the ‘clarity’ of having four points returned as Everton’s players can move on with a clear mind
Everton were docked 10 points in November for overspending but an appeal has seen four points returned
‘Everything that helps to give a lift of any kind is good news. Performances have stayed solid, we haven’t had the wins we wanted obviously. Getting four back is some form of – boost isn’t the right word – but the adjustment to the table which is now apparent was needed.
‘Everyone felt 10 in the first place was harsh. Some would argue maybe we were expecting more back. It’s done now and that’s all we were looking for. We wanted the points back but the main thing was to bring clarity.
‘For us, but most importantly for everyone, we felt it was an “interesting” period.’ Everton do, of course, have a second charge looming over them for a separate set of accounts, but Dyche insists the club are not thinking about that and just focusing on moving forward now.
He added: ‘There is nothing we can do about (the second case) at this time. The main focus was on this appeal and what came from it. We’ve certainly parked that now because it’s become a fact – a line has been drawn under it and the players are clear on it.
‘We take on the rest of the season with an open mind. The word galvanised was used as I didn’t think we needed that, but it does start to creep in eventually. To be fair to these players, it took a long time for that to happen.
‘We wanted the points back but the main thing was to bring clarity,’ Dyche explained
‘We were all waiting, the noise gets bigger and bigger – “when’s it coming?” – and the players hear all that and I thought they have stayed pretty steadfast in performance levels. I have a lot of respect for the playing group because all the outside noise does creep in eventually.
‘And they have done well to bat it away and stay focused on the job in hand. The league table looks different and now it is about using that wisely and stepping on. I thought it was beginning to creep in the last few games but the line is drawn and we move forwards.’
