Sean Dyche has said he “doesn’t understand” why he was sacked as Nottingham Forest manager.
The former Burnley and Everton boss saw his 114-day tenure ended last month, following a 0-0 draw with relegation rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Dyche’s dismissal came against a backdrop of dressing room unrest, with Forest’s players having been unconvinced by the 54-year-old’s methods. Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis made the decision to part company with Dyche after seeking the opinion of senior players.
Speaking for the first time since his sacking, on The Football Boardroom podcast, Dyche conceded that player unrest had played a part in his departure, but also blamed “keyboard warriors”.
He also:
- Questioned why some players felt that they were ‘tired’ after being worked hard on the training ground
- Felt that the stats of his tenure did not support the decision to sack him
- Criticised an unnamed player for needing to be taught how to press
Adressing his departure, Dyche said: “If you look at the stats and facts — even after the last game, against Wolves. Our current form at that time was ninth in the Premier League.
“The stats and facts were there, clear as day. From my record, from when we got there (in October) to when we ended, we’d have been 12th in the Premier League. So on factual data and analysis, I can’t understand any of the decisions that were made. But football is changing, and we witnessed.”
Dyche had 25 games in charge of Forest, winning ten, drawing six and losing nine. But it was the performances, as much as the results, that cost him his job. Forest were truly dismal in a 1-0 defeat in Braga in January, before a subsequent 3-1 defeat to Leeds United and that 0-0 draw with Wolves cost him his position.
“The bigger picture with football now is it’s like selling chocolate teapots,” said Dyche. “People come out with these stories about how ‘we’re this club’. You go: ‘No, you’re not. You’ve had one good season in 30 odd.’ You’re trying to remind the fanbase — this is where the keyboard warriors get really powerful, by the way — of the truth of what it is rather than what you think it is. It’s very difficult now.
“There are ten percent of people who spread the anger and the hate, then the mass media pick it up. Not the local media. They sell what people want. See how many clicks I can get. Long before I even went into Nottingham Forest, I live in the area, I was telling fans, ‘trust me, it is going to be really difficult this season’.”
Over the previous summer, Nuno Espirito Santo was also telling people that it would be difficult to repeat the achievements of last season, when Forest finished seventh and secured a return to Europe for the first time in three decades under his watch. What Dyche inherited was a chaotic fight against relegation, as he took over from Ange Postecoglou, who did not win a single game in a wretched 39-day tenure.
But an issue among the Forest squad was that they felt too much emphasis was placed on physicality in training. In the aftermath of his first Premier League game at Bournemouth, Dyche spoke about needing to get the players to his level of fitness.
“This is a lot that was coming out — that the players are tired because they (Dyche and his coaching team) are working them too hard,” Dyche added on the podcast. “Since when has that become a currency that is almost like, oh, what are they doing working footballers too hard? I mean, I couldn’t believe it, honestly. He’s working the players too hard? I’m like, when did that become a bad thing?
“I’m scratching my head. Lowest physical performing team in the Premier League when we took over, so what do you want me to do then? Not get them fitter? I mean, it’s just madness, right?”
Dyche confirmed that the players had raised that issue with him personally. Which prompts a question of why he did not listen to their concerns, amid a campaign that has seen them competing on the European stage as well?
He was also critical of an unnamed player, who complained about his management.
“The thirst for an excuse now … I have never seen it as high as it is now,” he said. “These players now are brought through these incredible academy systems, they are taught everything they need to know. They know tactics, stats … and yet on a Saturday, when you lose, it is ‘well, you didn’t tell me what to do’.
“Really? You have had a lifetime coming through an academy system and you are telling me that you do not know how to press somebody? Last week when we won 3-0, you did know how to press someone. The excuse level in football has gone through the roof.”
Some among Dyche’s biggest critics might well agree with that final sentiment.