Sean Dyche has revealed that not only was he never approached by Tottenham Hotspur, but he would not have taken the job regardless of what they offered him financially.
The 54-year-old was one of the names heavily linked with replacing Igor Tudor as Spurs scrambled for a manager during the international break, with his presence in London adding fuel to the speculation. Tottenham have since appointed Roberto De Zerbi, but Dyche has now set the record straight on talkSPORT, making clear the rumours had no foundation whatsoever.
“I didn’t laugh it off, by the way; I told a true story. I spend a lot of time in London, not working but socially and I just happened to be here at the same time the Tottenham job opened. Once you’re in the city, people put two and two together and it was never about getting drawn into the rumours. I’m telling the truth, there was a lot of speculation and talk and I was playing it down correctly.”
When pressed by Jim White on whether he had any conversation with the Spurs hierarchy at all, Dyche was unambiguous: he had not.
Why Sean Dyche would never have taken the Tottenham job
What makes his comments genuinely interesting is not just the denial but the reasoning he gave for why the job held no appeal even in theory. For Sean Dyche, it was never about the money.
“Obviously in the career I have, it does pay well, but I wouldn’t go in there looking for money. They could offer me a massive amount of money, I’m sure they’re capable of it and allegedly they’ve offered De Zerbi a massive amount of money.”
Instead, Sean Dyche framed the decision entirely around what he would stand to gain as a person. His logic is hard to argue with. Tottenham are one point above the relegation zone and have not won a Premier League game in the entire calendar year. The job is, by any honest assessment, an extremely difficult one to walk into with seven games remaining.
“It would have been about what are you going to help me gain as a human being. What would I gain? Let’s say you go in there and get the job done, then next season if you’re not in the top four and the football’s not what they want, then you’re rubbish and they want you out. So you’re not going to gain a lot there, are you? And that’s if you get the job done, because it’s not easy.”
The downside risk, in Dyche’s view, was simply not worth it. Avoiding relegation in the final weeks of the season would be considered the bare minimum, not a success. And if the worst happened, the narrative would stick to him for years.
“If you don’t get the job done, then somehow it’s on my neck that I took Tottenham down. That ain’t good for me as a human, this is not even about football at this point. Then you get some money and I go, I’m not thirsty for that. I’ve got some money.”
It is a remarkably candid set of comments, and probably the most honest public assessment anyone has given of what taking the Tottenham job right now actually means for a manager’s career and reputation. De Zerbi, who has since agreed to take on that exact challenge, will have heard it all too.
