Danny Drinkwater explains why he ‘didn’t enjoy’ playing under Everton boss Sean Dyche

Add as preferred source on Google

Everton are a team finally in the ascendency it seems after a torturous week off the pitch.

Having first announced the untimely passing of their much-loved chairman Bill Kenwright, the club was rocked by reports of the Premier League’s intentions to deduct 12 points from them following the flouting of their financial rules.

Coming at a truly unsavoury time, the news drew widespread condemnation from the fanbase, who only saw it as a further opportunity to reinforce the siege mentality being built at Goodison Park.

Everton vs the world.

So, to come away from the London Stadium with a hard-earned win only helped emphasise that notion, as they seek to make such a punishment obsolete with fine displays on the pitch.

However, despite Sean Dyche pulling off a masterclass on the road, it has not stopped former on-loan Burnley man from giving his views on the 52-year-old tactician after announcing his retirement.

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, the 33-year-old midfielder would detail his desperate attempts to regain fitness earlier in his career, outlining his brief spell at Turf Moor: ‘I worked with Sean Dyche at Watford, he was the assistant at Watford at the time when I didn’t enjoy it at all, and I had gone to Burnley just hoping it would be different but knowing that I was close to my son.

‘Going into it, I knew his teams were fit. I knew they were machines and I was like right, exactly what I need, but it didn’t work. It did not work at all.

‘Sean Dyche has got his own ways kind of thing, you’ve seen loads of players go under Sean Dyche and not be successful. I think I was just one of them.’

Then, when questioned about the reasons behind his unsuccessful spell under the boss, he continued: ‘Well, first of all, I wasn’t playing. He got me fit, but I wasn’t playing. He kind of sticks with his teams, it’s really really hard to get in.

‘I’m in a similar position at Burnley Football Club that I was at Chelsea Football Club. So then, in my head I’m thinking what am I doing here when I can be at Chelsea doing the exact same thing? What is going on?’

What happened to Danny Drinkwater?

Although he would go on to laud the manager’s mastery of the mental side of football, already it seems the two did not see eye to eye on what the Premier League winner might have added to the starting side.

This just emphasises the remarkable fall from grace the flop endured, going from a league winner with Leicester City to earning a £35m move to Stamford Bridge, before numerous loan spells condemned his fate.

Throughout the aforementioned podcast, Drinkwater details his desperate bid to overcome his injuries, but few seem to have suffered such misfortune like the now-retired ace.

Persisting calf injuries just scratch the surface of ongoing ailments, which would scupper a once-promising career completely.

Although he may blame Dyche for his failed spell at Burnley, it seems that a combination of unfortunate events and some questionable decision-making on his part marked the true downfall of Drinkwater.