Everton boss Sean Dyche hopes their latest charge for breaking spending rules is ‘fast-tracked’ and ‘comes to nothing’… as Toffees manager claims ‘there’s no consistency’ in points deductions handed out to rivals

Everton manager Sean Dyche hopes the latest allegation over the club’s profits and sustainability will be quickly resolved and the case “come to nothing”.

The Merseysiders, who have already been docked six points this season, face further punishment for a second alleged breach of Premier League rules.

A hearing took place earlier this week and the club is now awaiting a verdict, which should be delivered by April 8.

Dyche told a press conference: ‘They have shared the information that was requested of them. It’s too early to have an idea and we’re just waiting, really, like we did last time.

“I’m sure everyone expects it to speed up a little bit, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

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‘I don’t think anyone has concrete proof of how or in what direction these things will develop, especially after the first one.

‘We can only give information that is appropriate. Obviously I wasn’t there, but I’m told we’ve provided all the information we can.

“We hope they see, as a result, what the club has been trying to do to make sure we are in the right areas that they need us to be in. So we hope it doesn’t come to anything.”

Everton’s punishment and possible additional sanction, along with a four-point deduction for relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, have confused the situation at the bottom of the table.

The Toffees are currently four points clear of 18th-place Forest, but the East Midlands side have an appeal pending.

It is feared that the final positions and, consequently, the relegation outlook, will not be resolved until the end of the season.

With Everton initially docked 10 points before it was reduced to six on appeal, and Forest’s penalty a completely different figure, Dyche admits he is baffled.

“There is no consistency,” said Dyche, whose team travels to Bournemouth on Saturday hoping to end an 11-game winless streak.

‘I don’t know the details of ours, much less theirs. When you’re in that room, and the way they decide things, maybe there are different reasons and I can only imagine there’s more depth to it.

“But in its simplest form, I think everyone, not just us, said, ‘How is that? Where did that come from? How does that work?’

Meanwhile, Dyche played down reports of a fight with defender Nathan Patterson during the club’s recent training camp in Portugal.

It was claimed that Dyche jokingly slapped the Scot, but accidentally caught him harder than he intended, leading to heated exchanges.

Dyche said, “The old favorite: never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

In reality, it contains nothing. That was a joke. I tapped him on the head like your older brother would and he didn’t get the joke. That was it, basically. There’s no more.

But of course, that wouldn’t have sold. So when that comes out, everyone has to add layers and layers and layers to it, but it’s really that simple. That was it.’