Sean Dyche has now revealed what happened at Everton’s team dinner when a joke went awry.
Everton traveled to Portugal ahead of the international matchups due to a gap in first-team play as they try to get their season back on track. The Toffees are 16th in the Premier League table, six points ahead of Nottingham Forest, but they might face their second point deduction of the season as the Premier League investigates breaches of profitability regulations.
During their journey to Portugal, Dyche was embroiled in a joke gone wrong with defender Nathan Patterson, with The Daily Mail saying that the manager’slapped’ the teenager during a team supper, forcing senior players to intervene.
The article said that the problem was resolved internally, and all players trained during the camp before returning to Merseyside. Dyche revealed during his pre-match duties before the game against Bournemouth that the event was a joke missed by Patterson that had been blown out of proportion.
“You know, never let the truth get in the way of a good story,” he told me. “So, there’s nothing to it really. “I tapped him on the head as your elder brother would, and he didn’t get the humor; there’s nothing else to it, but of course, it wouldn’t sell. “So, everyone has to add layers and layers and layers to it but it’s really that simple.” Patterson played for Scotland during the international break, but England boss Gareth Southgate chose not to use colleague Jarrad Branthwaite in friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
Dyche confessed he was surprised not to see the kid receive his first cap. He said, “You know, I know Gareth well, and I admire him. I’ve never tried to force my opinions on him; instead, he asked about the players and their current form. “As a manager who cares about his players, I was surprised he didn’t get a few minutes. That said, it was a terrific experience. Gareth treats them well, both individually and collectively. “I had a quick word with him (Branthwaite) today, but nothing heavy, and he’s back in the group.”