Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips: Bigger is not always better for football managers

Firstly there is the Hobson’s Choice position for out of work managers who are having to apply for vacancies in the hope they can kick-start their careers, writes Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips.

And then, by contrast, there is the in-demand manager who, by nature, is currently in employment but is also receiving head-turning offers elsewhere. This may seem like a great position to be in, yet often it can be the worst scenario of all; choices, too many choices.

Sean Dyche is the epitomy of that character and finds himself the subject of much speculation at the moment. The Burnley manager has done a fantastic job to get The Clarets up to seventh with over a quarter of the Premier League season gone.

He is being touted as a potential successor to Ronald Koeman at Everton. Now there is a club who have the infrastructure, financial clout and support that wipes the floor with Burnley. But is it a better job for Dyche?

Working on a hypothetical assumption that the Everton job has been offered to him, there is so much to weigh up. This sort of opportunity may not come around again. A poor run of form and Dyche’s stock may never reach such heady heights again.

Burnley’s net spend this summer equates to a £15 million pound transfer profit, yet they have amassed the same points total as Liverpool who ploughed over £50 million pounds into squad strengthening on the back of a squad that managed to qualify for the Champions’ League last season.

It has become a cliché where Dyche is concerned, but the figures back up the argument that he is a manager who does well on meagre resources, in Premier League terms.

How much further can he take Burnley? Well they won’t finish higher than seventh this season that’s for sure. But he can put down a legacy to be proud of.

The club may not be spending huge sums in the transfer market but they are awash with Premier League cash. They have recently redeveloped the training ground to a high specification.

Their Turf Moor ground is old but it is not crumbling and there is no urgent need for updating it. These are great days for Burnley who are on a sound and stable footing.

Dyche could still achieve more with the club and leave a legacy that betters anything he has achieved so far. As Wigan Athletic proved in recent memory and as Southampton so nearly showed last season, trophies aren’t the preserve of the mega-rich.

But what if, come the New Year, a hectic Christmas programme has taken its toll and the team is struggling? Burnley are a long way from a top half finish and with three-quarters of the season still to run the likelihood is that the club will drop down the table.

Dyche is the embodiment of positivity, refusing to publicly ponder any scenario that could have negative implications on his players’ and his club’s fortunes. But behind closed doors, when the lights are out and he is lying awake at night these are thoughts that must have crossed his mind. What if it all goes downhill from here?

The voice in his head. ‘Everton, Sean. You’ve got to take the Everton job.’ Look at what is on offer at Goodison Park. Here is a club that can qualify for European football regularly as Koeman and his predecessors Roberto Martinez and David Moyes managed. Here is a club with grand ambitions, a financier to prop them up and a supporter-base the envy of many.

But there may be another voice in Dyche’s head warning of the dangers that could lie ahead on Merseyside. Everton are in the bottom three for a reason. Too much of the season has been played out already for the club’s league position to be dismissed as unlucky or undeserving.

They are a team in trouble. If the worst happens and Dyche takes Everton down from the top flight for the first time in 64 years then there may be no recovering from that. Where would that leave him?

The history books might be a pointer here. One of Dyche’s predecessors at Turf Moor, Owen Coyle, walked out on Burnley for neighbours Bolton halfway through their first season in the Premier League in January 2010 when his stock was sky high. Initially it looked like a good move, with Bolton pulling clear of relegation and Burnley dropping down to The Championship.

But the following season Bolton were relegated and Coyle was soon out of work as they laboured in The Championship. Poor spells with Wigan and Blackburn took Coyle off the managerial map in England and he is now in charge of Scottish outfit Ross County.

Only this week Simon Grayson was sacked by Sunderland, having barely had the chance to get his feet under the table. A nightmare scenario for a man who did great work with Preston last season and must have walked into The Stadium of Light dreaming of the opportunities that lay ahead at the north-east giant.

Ambition takes many different forms. Dyche will want the opportunity to take his career as high as possible and his dreams can certainly be realised at Everton. Few would begrudge him the opportunity to make such a move, but it is worth bearing in mind that history suggests bigger jobs aren’t necessarily better jobs.