'I fit in that box' - Sean Dyche breaks silence on 'Utter Woke Nonsense' meme as ex-Everton & Burnley boss defends his much-maligned tactical blueprint

Dyche was a popular figure at both Everton and Burnley during his managerial stints but has never been renowned for an expansive, exciting style of play. Instead, the 53-year-old has been branded as 'old fashioned' and as a result, was made the subject of the 'Utter Woke Nonsense' meme, which features the manager leaning against a green wall with the letters posted underneath his face.

The meme can often be found plastered underneath a lot of football-related content on the social media platform X, but Dyche sees the funny side of the joke and even went as far as to admit that his views on the sport actually line up with the image.

Speaking to Gary Lineker on The Rest is Football Podcast, he said: "The thing is, once you are in that box, what is the point of fighting it? There is no point in fighting it, it's just life. Look at me, I fit in that box. The utter woke nonsense thing that blew up, everyone just put two and two together. Of course, I have got some views of modern society, like anybody else has views. It all just adds to the bundle."

Dyche has been out of work since being sacked by Everton in January after a poor run of results in the Premier League. There has been some suggestion that he does not get linked with the biggest jobs due to his much-maligned tactical blueprint, but Dyche is not about to change. "All I try and do is develop players and develop teams that can win," he added. "Slightly different at Everton because we had to win enough. At Burnley it was different as well, building a club off the pitch as well as on the pitch. 'There is a judgment from the outside world, which is the media and the fans."