Sean Dyche makes honest admission about Everton transfers and contract plans

Forward planning for next season is underway at Everton but uncertainty around the club’s ownership continues to leave Sean Dyche “juggling sand”.

Two wins in four days have redefined the final weeks of the Blues’ campaign with the latter - the emphatic Merseyside derby victory over Liverpool - providing a shot of confidence through the club while taking it to the brink of Premier League survival.

Safety could be confirmed this weekend - a remarkable achievement given the eight points of deductions and wider off-field instability that has dogged a team that only secured its top-flight status in the final week of the last two campaigns.

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The wins over Nottingham Forest and Liverpool have moved Everton eight points clear of the bottom three with just four games to go. The commanding position over not just Luton Town but also Forest mean director of football Kevin Thelwell should be able to forward-plan for another season in the Premier League with confidence for the first time in his Goodison Park career.

While that would typically offer a crucial period for the club to begin work on its summer plans, in Everton’s case that remains difficult for those involved in the footballing operation at Finch Farm, including Thelwell and Dyche. An interim board has been in place at the club since last summer and remains in position while an attempted takeover by US firm 777 Partners continues to struggle through the Premier League approval process.

Neither a breakthrough, nor the emergence of a challenger, would provide immediate certainty over the club budget for the summer. Everton have an outstanding argument with the Premier League over how millions of pounds in stadium interest costs have been accounted for - with a hearing over that issue expected after the end of this season. The club will also need to carefully analyse its financial position ahead of the profit and sustainability deadline of June 30, with the Blue potentially having to consider selling a player before then to comply with the regulations for what would be the first time in three years.

Following the victory over Liverpool, Dyche has insisted the focus must remain on Brentford, this weekend’s opponents, and mathematically securing survival. But attention has naturally turned to the future as well, and the Everton manager confirmed he and Thelwell have started drawing up summer plans.

Dyche said: “In this case it doesn’t really matter because the club is in the flux of ownership. But usually the earlier you get things done, the quicker you can plan your next step. But we’re planning anyway - myself and Kev and scouts... 'What if this happens? What if that happens?' And then trying to keep an open mind but then still go to your staples - 'who is going to be here?' It’s the juggling act of the club, it’s like juggling sand.”

The coming months will be crucial to the club as it seeks to build on this season, with decisions needed on a host of players. Andy Lonergan, Andre Gomes, Dele, Idrissa Gueye Ashley Young and club captain Seamus Coleman are all out of contract while loan signings Jack Harrison and Arnaut Danjuma are scheduled to return to their parent clubs. Key players including Dominic Calvert-Lewin are also due to enter the final 12 months of their deals.

Asked what decisions, if any, had been made already, Dyche said: “I am waiting to see the realities of what we can and can’t do. It’s been a constant here, and not just about players. There’s always something going on here, it is like juggling sand. How do you master that? Every time we go, ‘yes, that’s good,’ something crops up and it’s, ‘that’s not good, now we have to solve that’. It’s like putting your fingers in the dam. It’s the same with players at the moment. Because the club is in this flux we can’t guarantee one way or the other so we are shifting, moving and moulding things as we can.”