Sean Dyche Addresses Player Fitness, Tactical Decisions, and Brentford Match

Everton manager Sean Dyche addressed the media in advance of Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Brentford, scheduled for a 15:00 GMT kick-off. The following are the main points from his press briefing: Dwight McNeil reportedly experienced a “good week” in training, and Dyche stated he is “hopeful” that Jarrad Branthwaite will be fit for selection. Armando Broja has resumed training after an injury layoff but will not participate in the match against Brentford. Regarding Branthwaite’s contributions to the squad, Dyche remarked: “The obvious one is balance. He’s a left-sided centre-half and there aren’t many around – certainly not many of the standard he is. There are others – his size, his physicality – but it’s nice to get left and right [and so be] so balanced. That’s helpful for the whole group.” When queried about Iliman Ndiaye’s most effective position, Dyche responded: “Currently he’s doing well off the left. People keeping telling me I should be playing him in the number 10 [position] but there’s no evidence to suggest he should be playing there. I think he could adapt into there but as a modern number 10, you have to defend from there as well. Dwight has done well on the offensive side but some of the defensive side he’s found a challenge. It’s not as easy as people think.” Dyche further elaborated: “It can be developed over time. At the moment I think he [Ndiaye] is doing a good job off the left. He can wriggle, he can affect and drive into the box, and he’s doing well with that. He’s still young in his Premier League learning and he’s still adapting.” Addressing the impact of the ongoing takeover on January transfer strategies, Dyche stated: “There’s no news so we’re working to the current situation, which is being very sensible financially. If the Friedkin Group do get it done in its totality, things might change. But at the minute, we’re working with the guidelines that were there before.” Pertaining to the club’s atmosphere concerning recent results, Dyche commented: “It’s hard to bring positivity on a constant basis. The clouds have been hovering around the club for so long now that we kind of get a respite and people kind of deem it something different. But in house, the players have been very positive.” He further stated: “You’ve just got to keep going and try to change that story. The feeling in the camp has been good – the outside feel shifts constantly – and all we can do is work hard to get the right results to keep it going.” Discussing the upcoming match against Brentford, Dyche remarked: “Every game is vital to the fans, to me and to the players. It’s another massive game for us. We’ve got to take on a side that do have ups and downs but they are a good side. I’ve got massive respect for the manager.”