Seamus Coleman helps steer Everton to FA Cup win as interim manager

Caretaker managers Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines led the Toffees to a 2-0 FA Cup victory over Peterborough just hours after sacking of Sean Dyche.

Eight goalless games in 10 outings and a wretched run of form left Dyche under severe pressure, and the former Burnley boss was ultimately put out of his misery this afternoon after days of speculation.

Even more significant is the fact that Everton are just one point above the relegation zone, though the mood around the club will be lifted by the success of Coleman and Baines.

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However, their touchline stint will be a one-off with former boss David Moyes set to come back 12 years after leaving.

Beto’s 42nd-minute strike, his third goal of the season coming in a third different competition, and Iliman Ndiaye’s late penalty saw a team picked by Dyche before his departure edge past the 19th-placed Sky Bet League One visitors.

Seventeen-year-old academy graduate Harrison Armstrong, making only his sixth appearance, brilliantly threaded through a pass and with Jadel Katongo leaving it too late in stepping out Beto – linked with a move to Torino – had time and space to round goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic for a first goal since October.

Dyche’s sacking came after days of negotiation over his pay-off on a contract due to expire in the summer and when the details were eventually finalised hours before kick-off TFG pulled the trigger immediately.

The 53-year-old knew he was on borrowed time, having admitted to the owners his tenure had run its course after almost two years.

TFG had already sounded out Graham Potter earlier in the week before he opted for West Ham and Moyes is now in pole position for an emotional return as the club say farewell to Goodison Park at the end of the season.

The American-based group, as owners of Roma, have already shown they are not afraid to make big calls on managers.

Jose Mourinho was sacked 18 months after winning the Serie A club’s first European triophy, while his replacement Daniele De Rossi, a club great and fan favourite, lasted eight months. De Rossi’s successor Ivan Juric got the boot after just 12 games.

Dyche oversaw two relegation escapes, one on the final day of the season, but his overall record was poor and this season exposed his shortcomings and those of a squad low on quality and numbers with just three Premier League wins – and only 15 goals – all season, leaving the side just a point above the bottom three.

With a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock to move into next season the club cannot afford to be threatened by relegation again and Dyche paid the price for taking a limited squad as far as he could.

However, there was a delay as TFG, which only assumed control 21 days ago, were not prepared to acquiesce to Dyche’s financial demands as it is determined to run the club on a more sustainable financial footing in the light of the lavish spending under previous incumbent Farhad Moshiri, which ultimately resulted in two separate points deductions for breaching profitability and sustainability rules last season.

Dyche’s parting gift was to change formation to 3-5-2 and hand Jake O’Brien, a £16million summer signing, only his fifth appearance of the season.

The sight of the centre-back and Nathan Patterson tackling each other on the touchline for the ball, which rolled out of play, was an inauspicious start.

Orel Mangala smashed a volley against the crossbar from George Nevett’s half-clearance before Jarrad Branthwaite, one of the few successes under the former manager, blocked Cian Hayes’ goalbound shot with his chest.

Beto struck and, after the break, Idrissa Gueye blazed over from Patterson’s cut-back but old problems persisted with further goals hard to come by until Ndiaye’s stoppage-time penalty after Katongo’s foul on Branthwaite.

But striker Armando Broja departing on a stretcher, with his right leg in a splint, straight to a waiting ambulance will only compound things for the new manager.

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