Sean Dyche makes admission to Andy Gray about Everton supporters on beIN Sports

Sean Dyche admits that it is tougher handling the demands of supporters at Everton compared to his time at Burnley.

The 52-year-old was appointed Everton manager in January and guided the Toffees to Premier League survival last season.

Dyche, who spent nearly a decade as Burnley boss, was asked by ex-Everton player Andy Gray if there are “different pressures” at Goodison Park.

“Home and away, they stand by their team, but there is a bigger demand as you know – a bigger club, bigger feel, more powerful in a sense of the fans and connection.

“When I got here [supporters] wanted the truth, so I told them the truth. But you tell them the truth and they don’t want the truth. You’ve got to find the balance – you wanted the truth and I’m giving you the truth.

“We’ve got a long way to go. Now we are showing signs of that and the fans have been fair. More are enjoying what they are seeing, a team going back to your era.”

Fair

Managing Everton is a tough gig, as many higher-profile managers than Dyche have come to learn.

A lack of success, relatively speaking, has taken its toll on supporters, who have become more accustomed to fighting relegation than challenging for silverware.

In fairness to Dyche, he has made Everton a far more stable club at a time of great uncertainty off the field.

The experienced manager has had to contend with fan discontent aimed at the board throughout his tenure, plus the ongoing takeover talk and FFP case.

As Dyche says, supporters are fair when it comes to their reaction to the players themselves. If they put in a good performance but fall to defeat, that is fine; if they fail to perform and get turned over, well that is not acceptable.

After advancing through to the EFL Cup quarter-finals this week, it may well be that silverware is closer to arriving at Goodison Park than many think.

In other Everton news, Dyche has made a “weird” admission about something that happened earlier this wee