has made a great start to life as boss, but he risks riling up some fans by admitting he had a liking for Liverpool as a kid, if only because he admired their away kit.
The new Toffees manager enjoyed a dream debut last weekend when his team beat league-leaders Arsenal at Goodison Park, immediately bringing in a wave of optimism about his reign.
That will be put to the test on Monday night in the Merseyside derby at Anfield, obviously a tough fixture but not nearly as tough as it has been in recent years as Liverpool are really struggling for form at the moment.
Ahead of the contest, Dyche was quizzed on rumours that he supported Liverpool while he was growing up and the former Burnley boss revealed all.
He was not exactly a Liverpool fan, supporting his local club Kettering instead, but is happy to admit that he had a soft spot for the Reds, even if it was because of a yellow kit.
‘I don’t mind telling you that at seven years old I’m in Kettering, not exactly the metropolis of football I will tell you. I was actually a Kettering fan, which by the way never makes a story,’ he said.
‘I actually physically had a season ticket and I used to physically go and watch Kettering. The sideline of Kettering, because obviously Kettering doesn’t make a story and you’ll all agree with that, is that as a ‘70s kid, most kids in the ‘70s supported Liverpool.
‘My mate Franny, he had a yellow Liverpool kit. I thought “that’s a nice kit, who is that?” and he said “Liverpool” so I thought: “We are Liverpool fans from now on then”. He still is.
Dyche explained that the only time he went to a game at Anfield was when his youth team was invited there by Liverpool legend Phil Neal.
‘I’d never been to a game, other than Phil Neal’s… It’s kind of a story but it is not really,’ he said. ‘I could tell you a story about Kettering Town, Freddie Easthall, Billy Kellock going to Wembley in 1979 for the FA Vase. Jim Conde, the legend who was the assistant and whose son I played with.
‘I could tell you a million Kettering stories, I can’t tell you many Liverpool stories other than the ones you all know.’
, .
, and .
