Everton manager Sean Dyche is alleged to have playfully clipped defender Nathan Patterson in a joke gone wrong during the club’s recent warm weather training camp in Portugal
Nathan Patterson received an apology from Sean Dyche after a lighthearted video of the Everton defender’s head went wrong.
The 52-year-old manager of the Toffees and his team have been training in warm weather in Portugal for the past week, and they do not have a Premier League match this weekend. And although everything about the camp went smoothly, there was an odd event that surfaced during a team supper.
The event transpired in Quinta do Lago, an Algarve resort, with Dyche at its center. According to a source from The Mail, he allegedly aimed a “joval” clip at Patterson, but it connected too strongly.
The Mirror is aware that neither during nor after the dinner, there was a significant altercation or animosity between Dyche and any of his players. He did, however, express his regret to Patterson for any offense he may have caused.
On Friday, the Everton team returned from their training camp in the warm weather. The Merseyside derby between them and Liverpool was supposed to take place this weekend, but the Reds’ FA Cup commitments have forced the postponement of the game.
Dyche had thought that a shift in location would motivate a team that has already lost 11 league games. If the Toffees don’t defeat Bournemouth by the end of the month, they will have lost as many games as they have in the Premier League since the 1994–1995 season.
After the Toffees’ 2-0 loss to Manchester United last week, a game that they dominated for extended stretches of time, Dyche lamented his players’ lack of confidence in front of goal. “I have never been here and had that many opportunities or created that many chances,” he declared. It’s really annoying. To score a goal, you have to be willing to suffer an injury, and I don’t see enough of that.”
He went on: “I warned the guys before the game that nobody thinks we can score a goal. Possess the liberty to go forth and hit it with intention. We must attempt to solve this puzzle. We’re having amazing opportunities, but we’re not taking use of them.”
With ten games left in the season, Everton is four points above the relegation zone in 16th place in the league right now.
