Sean Dyche turns up for every Everton press conference in his training kit. One wonders whether combat gear would be more appropriate.

“Never a dull moment,” could be his catchphrase as he readies himself for as many questions about the latest unnecessary off-field distractions. It is 21 years since Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside was cancelled, but Everton Football Club have so excelled at filling the void it is a surprise that the show’s creator Phil Redmond has not been approached to make an offer for Farhad Moshiri’s shares.

Five minutes before Dyche was due to talk about his latest ‘must not lose’ Premier League fixture – Everton travel to Aston Villa on Saturday – the club’s media team arrived to say there would be a 15-minute delay. They then distributed a statement in response to comments from the club’s latest bidder, John Textor, which underlined the growing sense that what Moshiri is praying for — a swift resolution to the sale process — is more wishful thinking than reality.

The majority shareholder’s apparently desperate attempts to sell the club appear to have encouraged Textor to make a public pitch to assume control. Because his remarks were so candid and led — according to Everton — to misguided optimism that a takeover was imminent, some on Merseyside felt no option but to issue a correction. Not for the first time, those individuals are left to feel that they have had to clear the debris of a proposed ownership bid.

Textor’s interview on Sky Sports, broadcast on Wednesday evening, caused consternation among Everton’s interim board. The club’s carefully crafted 119-word statement on behalf of interim chief executive Colin Chong was more remarkable for the fact he felt compelled to release it at all, the undertone being that the comments from the Crystal Palace shareholder regarding how close he was to securing a deal were at best premature and at worst damaging.

It is understood Moshiri cleared the release of the statement distancing the club from Textor’s remarks — specifically those suggesting the sale is nearing its conclusion — but the owner’s name was noticeably absent from it. That did nothing to diminish the perception that Moshiri and those entrusted to run the club are not always on the same page.

“There remains some work to be done to complete the transaction,” said Chong. Others at Everton suggest that is diplomatic and it is “far from being done”. Textor is yet to sell his Palace stake, while Everton know from recent history how long the Premier League’s due diligence can take to establish if the funds are really there to run the club sustainably and remove financial risks.

As per Everton’s statement, Textor’s additional remarks regarding Dyche’s managerial profile and whether it was advisable for the club to pursue a £500 million stadium had to be regarded as representing his “personal view”. That’s just as well given Everton have effectively staked their future on a new arena that will transform their city as much as the club.

As an exercise in trying to win the hearts and minds of Evertonians, Textor and whoever is providing him PR advice might patrol social media and believe they have achieved the required outcome, given many supporters seemed to welcome his observations. Other fans are not so sure, applying the golden rule that the most astute and wise owners are those who keep their counsel until contracts are signed.

Having his remarks slapped down within 24 hours of making them certainly does not send out the most reassuring signal. Just like the ill-fated bid from 777 Partners, the latest move in the Everton ownership saga seems to have achieved the seemingly impossible by unveiling red flags at Goodison Park.