SEAN DYCHE has been SACKED by Everton just hours ahead of the club’s FA Cup third-round clash with Peterborough.
Toffees Under-18s head coach Leighton Baines and club captain Seamus Coleman will take charge of Thursday night’s showdown.
But the pair’s former boss David Moyes in understood to be waiting in the wings for an emotional return.
Jose Mourinho is another shock name in the frame but iconic Toffees chief Moyes – who led them to a fourth-place finish, and a Champions League qualification spot, in 2005 – who has emerged as the club’s new owners’ top target.
An early approach was made to Moyes, 61, and his staff by The Friedkin Group, before they took control at Goodison Park.
The ex-West Ham boss, who left the east London club in the summer, has rejected a number of different offers since leaving the London Stadium – including international jobs and some in America.
Dyche, 53, had been in charge of the Toffees for two years, having replaced Frank Lampard in January 2023.
But with Everton currently 16th in the Premier League and just one point above the relegation zone, club chiefs decided to swing the axe
In a statement on their club website, Everton said: “Everton Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as Senior Men’s First Team Manager with immediate effect.
“Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Mark Howard and Billy Mercer have also left the Club.
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“The process to appoint a new manager is under way and an update will be provided in due course.
“Under-18s Head Coach Leighton Baines and Club Captain Seamus Coleman will take charge of first-team affairs on an interim basis.”
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In the build-up to Thursday’s match, Dyche, 53, admitted that club owners TFG would not be doing their jobs if they were not considering the possibility of replacing him.
The appointment of Mourinho could be seen as a spectacular coup – despite TFG billionaire owner Dan Friedkin, also owner of Roma, sacking him a year ago.
The Portuguese chief was also twice axed by Chelsea as well as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Inter Milan – but deems his dismissal by Friedkin as the “one that most hurt”.
The Special One took over at Fenerbache last summer but is at war with Turkish authorities over the way the nation’s Super Lig is being run.
Despite being so upset by the way Friedkin got rid of him, the 61-year-old would love a chance for another tilt at the Premier League.
But Moyes now appears more likely to get the job.
SEAN DYCHE was appointed in January 2023 following the disastrous reign of Frank Lampard.
Things couldn’t have got off to a better start for the former Burnley manager, with victory over Arsenal in his first game at the helm.
That first season saw the Toffees’ battle against relegation go down to the final day of the season, with Dyche masterminding a 1-0 win over Bournemouth to retain their place in the top flight.
The 2023-24 season started positively, but then Everton were hit with a 10-point deduction, which was later reduced to six points.
Despite being hampered by the punishment, Dyche guided Everton to 15th position.
The highlight of the season was a 2-0 win over local rivals Liverpool – their first Merseyside derby win at Goodison for 14 years.
But despite signs of improvement last term, the Toffees have found themselves in a rut again this season, with Dyche leaving with the team just one point clear of the relegation zone.
The distraction of the club’s long protracted takeover cannot have helped, but after The Friedkin Group finally got a deal over the line in December, just a few weeks later they decided on a change of manager.
Moyes spent 11 years in charge at Goodison before leaving for Manchester United in 2013, leading them to the 2009 FA Cup final as well as their 4th placed finish in 2005.
That earned them a spot in Champions League qualifying where the Toffees lost to Villarreal.
Speaking last month after being awarded an OBE, he said he was not done in management.
The Scot told the BBC: “I don’t consider myself done yet but I am certainly enjoying some time off.
“The one thing I won’t do is put any manager under pressure personally, because I don’t believe in it. I have not liked it when I have been in that position myself.
“We are all getting a little bit older and I have to make sure I am doing the right thing for myself.
“Football is in my blood. It has been since I was a boy. I love watching football and I have enjoyed my career.
“If there is another part to it, so be it. But I would only want it to be a good part. I wouldn’t want to be coming in and doing something which is very difficult.
“I don’t want to be at the bottom of the league and fighting relegation which I have had a few times, so we will see how things go.”
The writing had been on the wall for Dyche after just three wins in 19 Premier League games and fans starting to turn on his style of play.
Ahead of the game, the former Burnley chief was asked if he believed the ownership group would consider axing him, to which he replied: “It should be.
“If you’re a business of this size and this club, then succession planning should be part of their diligence. I’ve got no problem with that at all.
“I think that should be ongoing at every football club.
“That’s part of the business, surely. I’m sure it is in what we’d call normal business life.”
Everton take on Peterborough in a potential FA Cup giant-killing at 7.45pm on Thursday at Goodison Park.
