Sean Dyche reaffirmed his commitment to Everton when asked about his contract situation.

The Everton boss was asked about his deal, which ends next summer, in his press conference ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa. Dyche arrived in January 2023 after Frank Lampard’s exit. Since then, he’s battled relegation twice and led the club through a tumultuous spell that has seen points deductions, stadium, owner and financial uncertainty – a 19-month period which he claimed was a far ‘deeper challenge’ than he expected when he first came.

Another difficult spell has begun in the early part of this new campaign after three straight league defeats made worse by their seven-minute capitulation against AFC Bournemouth which saw them lose after leading two-nil. An ‘easier’ run of fixtures awaits them in the coming weeks as they don’t face any of the traditional ‘top six’ teams until November 30.

Speaking ahead of his side’s trip to face Villa this weekend, Dyche ‘made it clear’ that the focus is on getting back to winning ways and that he’s fully committed to the club as it stands. “I’ve made it clear, I was asked a month ago and the main focus is the club and it’s still nowhere near where the club wants to be. We’ve done loads of work myself, and Kevin [Thelwell] on the playing side with bringing in a lot of players with moves and the contractual side and we’ve brought money in that way.

“I was under no illusion about the challenge – although its been a much bigger and deeper challenge than I expected when I first came here. But my situation is secondary to the situation the club is in. Winning games is my first thought, it’s not about myself or the contract – that part of it is simple, not simple to do, but simple in thought.

“The ambition here changes weekly, with different stories, different bits with the club, it’s going to be sold, you’re going to be here or you’re not going to be here – I’ve heard it all in 20 months. It’s been an up and down time that’s for sure, but that’s for the club not just for me.

“We’ve brought some levels of calmness during the process, at the minute it’s a volatile situation on and off the pitch, with talk of ownership issues and on the pitch, not getting the results we want to get. Football very rarely surprises me, it did against Bournemouth for seven minutes, but very rarely does it surprise me.”