Sean Dyche: Formation, style of play and philosophy

With persistent reports linking him to the Leicester City job, we take a took at the managerial profile of Sean Dyche.

Whilst Ruud van Nistelrooy is still employed by the club it has been thought for a long time that he will lose his job, with the Foxes' hierachy reportedly refusing to engage with the Dutchman ahead of next season.

Sean Dyche background

Previous roles

After initially joining Watford as coach of the U18s in 2007, Dyche was promoted to be Malky Mackay's assistant manager just two years later.

When Mackay was dismissed, Dyche took over the first team reins, guiding the Hornets to their highest Championship finish in four seasons but he was sacked when the Pozzo's took ownership of the club.

Following his sacking at Vicarage Road, the 53-year-old briefly took up a role with England's U21 side but left to join Burnley after just one month.

This was to be the job that Dyche earned his managerial reputation for. Operating on a shoestring budget, Burnley were tipped for relegation but a finish in the automatic promotion places provided the springboard for a Premier League ascent in his second season.

Initially, their Premier League stay only lasted one season, but the club stood with Dyche following relegation - a decision that bore fruit when Burnley won the Championship title to seal an immediate top-flight return.

The Clarets were a club firmly on the up under Dyche's tutelage and a seventh placed Premier League finish guaranteed European competition for the first time in over 50 years.

Another successful top-flight season came next for the club, before struggles in 2021/22 led to Dyche losing his job under new ownership at Turf Moor.

In January 2023, Everton appointed Dyche as their new manager after Frank Lampard was sacked following a string of poor results.

The relationship started well with Everton defeating league leaders Arsenal, but performances were mixed during his near two-year tenure at Goodison Park.

Dyche managed to help retain Everton's Premier League status despite a points deduction during his first full season in charge but with just three wins from their opening 19 league games of the 2024/25 campaign, he was replaced by David Moyes.

Philosophy, style of play and formation

Known for his pragmatic and disciplined style of play, his teams are characterised by their immense discipline and hard-working attitude.

Dyche embodies a commitment to his core footballing values that, while simple, have helped him achieve great success during his managerial career so far.

During his most successful time at Burnley, the Clarets employed a direct style of play often captalising on the physical advantages that his team held with a strategic use of long balls to hurt the oppositions defence.

Often faced with limited resources with his jobs so far, squad buy-in, hard work and organisation have been key pillars to his managerial triumphs.

Sean Dyche generally sets his team up in a 4-4-2 formation which allows for fast counter attacks, as well as providing a solid defensive base.

In defence, there is little space between the midfield and back four which makes for a compact structure making it extremely difficult for opposing teams to find any meaningful space in their offensive third.

Strike partnerships were pivotal to Dyche's success at Burnley with Danny Ings and Sam Vokes forming a formidable partnership during his first promotion campaign.