Dyche ‘quarrel with Everton stars in training camp after clumsy joke failed’
EVERTON’S Portuguese training camp was “marred by an altercation” between their manager and players, according to a shocking report.
The Toffees are on an 11-match winless run – just one shy of their worst Premier League record from the 1994/95 season.
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That led to boss Sean Dyche deciding to take his struggling side abroad for a week in a bid to rebuild spirits.
however, the Daily email has claimed that training camp was dominated by a “disagreement” between him and some of his stars.
The report states that Dyche “shocked his side by aiming a jocular punch at the head of defender Nathan Patterson, 22, during a meal in the Algarve resort of Quinta do Lago”.
The 52-year-old is said to have had “more forceful contact with the Scotland international than he intended”, leaving some players unimpressed.
That would have led to emotions becoming ‘sufficiently heated’ and Everton captain James Tarkowski intervening.
The 31-year-old centre-back removed his former Burnley boss from the scene “to make any lingering bad feeling go away”.
They left the table where the players and staff were eating, but returned to finish their meal with the rest of the group.
This report then claims that Dyche apologized to Patterson.
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Dyche’s “intentions were harmless” and the evening was “benign” apart from this incident, which left the right-back “embarrassed to be the center of attention”.
The Mail adds that sources at Everton, who returned home on Friday, are adamant the incident was not a major failure and merely “a clumsy prank that backfired”.
However, “it caused an uproar among fellow restaurant goers” and brought more unwanted attention amid the club’s struggles on and off the field.
Everton’s miserable run has seen them drop to 16th in the table and just four points above Luton in the relegation zone.
They have already been deducted six points – which was reduced from ten on appeal – for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
And it looks like they will face another points deduction this season after being accused of a second breach of PSR rules.
The Mail says that “Everton sources insist the trip was a success” and that the players were “in good spirits when they landed” on Merseyside at around 5pm yesterday with “all reportedly resolved”.
Everton will not return to Premier League action until March 30, when they visit Bournemouth.