Sean Dyche enjoying showing lighter side in break from management
The former Burnley and Nottingham Forest boss’s ‘VAR Spa’ campaign for Snickers follows several podcast appearances and a new Instagram account.
Sean Dyche is enjoying showing a different side of himself as he has embraced social media, podcasts and more since leaving Nottingham Forest in February.
The 54-year-old has long had a reputation for an old-school, no-nonsense approach to management but those that know him well also know his sharp sense of humour and readiness to joke around behind the scenes when times allow.
That has come to the fore with Dyche making a string of podcast appearances and joining Instagram, with football analysis coming alongside discussions of his favourite curries or club nights in Ibiza.
Most recently, he has taken part in a tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign commissioned by Snickers in which he operates a ‘VAR spa’ mobile wellness centre to help frustrated fans cope with refereeing and VAR-inspired angst.
None of this means Dyche’s drive to manage at the top level has left him but he has enjoyed branching out.
“I’ve always had a laugh, particularly during the Burnley days, that connection we had with the fans,” Dyche told the Press Association.
“Everton was a bit more tense, it was harder to have a laugh in that situation, but my family have said for the last few years, ‘You should be out there, you should be letting people know you, some of the stuff you say does resonate with younger audiences’…
“Just because you’re having a laugh doesn’t mean you’re not a serious character and that you don’t know your subject matter. I’ve enjoyed it.”
When it comes to knowing the subject matter, Dyche has plenty of experience with VAR, long a favourite topic during post-match press conferences, not without reason, and there has been a serious side to his VAR Spa.
A survey commissioned by Snickers found that one in three football fans in the UK believe VAR has made football less enjoyable, with a similar number saying it has made the game too slow. More than two thirds, some 72 per cent, said a time limit should be introduced on VAR decisions.
Manchester United were involved in the most VAR decisions, 11, and the longest total time of delay, 11.15 minutes, although Chelsea had to wait the longest for their decisions – an average of 82.1 seconds compared to a league-wide average of 52.2 seconds.
Dyche can understand that frustration but recognises that VAR is not going away.
“From a professional point of view we’re bound to say it’s needed because some of these decisions, they can cost you,” he said. “But it has to be more streamlined, to get quicker and to get better.
“From a fan point of view it must be so frustrating. Every fan I speak to, they say it’s brilliant when it goes for you – and that’s the problem because you sort of don’t want it, but then you see something so bad you think ‘how on earth did we not get that?’ You can’t have it both ways.”
Some elements of the campaign should be taken with a pinch of salt – not least the suggestion that Dyche undertook 200 hours of training on his massage techniques. He did not, and remains primed to move back into management if the right opportunity arises.
“We’ll see,” he said. “You never know. I wasn’t desperately looking when Forest came along. It changes and if I get a phone call I’ll have a decision to make, but at the minute there hasn’t been a decision to make.
“It’s been pretty easy going and I’ve enjoyed looking down different avenues.”