SÉAMUS COLEMAN’S PARTICIPATION in Ireland’s final game in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against The Netherlands next month remains in doubt after Everton manager Sean Dyche confirmed the defender has just returned to the training pitch.
“Séamus is on the grass for the first time with us but he’s had one day,” Dyche said today ahead of Saturday’s Merseyside derby. “But he needs time after a long period out.”
The Ireland and Everton captain has been out since May due to a knee injury he suffered against Leicester City.
Dyche, meanwhile, says he “knows what he needs to know” about the club’s off-field issues after a disciplinary hearing into an alleged breach of Premier League spending rules started this week.
The struggling club has posted financial losses of more than £400 million (€459m) over four years.
Under the English top flight’s profit and sustainability rules, clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105 million (€120.5m) over three years.
Everton were referred to an independent commission in March.
The hearing is expected to be concluded next week, although a decision may not be made public until November, with suggestions the club could face a fine or points deduction if found guilty.
Further concerns have been raised about the suitability of US-based investment firm 777 Partners as a prospective new owner after it agreed a deal to buy Farhad Moshiri’s 94%.
“I know what I need to know and that’s enough for me,” said Dyche when asked about how he kept track of what was happening off the pitch.
“I don’t need to add in another level of someone’s opinion. I know what I know from inside. It is often irrelevant what someone is saying from the outside because I know what’s going on.”
On the independent hearing, Dyche added: “I’ve stepped into the middle of it but it’s certainly not something that involves me as manager but sort of distantly does from the fact that I am manager.
“I will wait and see the outcome, what it is and when the timelines are. I don’t know any more than that.”
Everton, just three points above the relegation zone, have the daunting task of facing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, where they have not won in front of a crowd since 1999.
