Sean Dyche confirms PGMOL talks and makes Everton fans' admission after Man Utd loss

Sean Dyche has revealed that he plans to hold talks with the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL) after Everton were on the wrong end of another controversial VAR decision.

The Toffees suffered a 3-0 loss to Manchester United at Goodison Park in their first game since being slapped with a 10-point deduction by the Premier League for breaching financial rules.

Alejandro Garnacho's stunning bicycle kick gave United the lead inside three minutes. Yet Everton responded superbly and created enough chances to go into half-time on level terms, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dwight McNeil and Abdoulaye Doucoure wasteful.

The turning point arrived minutes into the second half when United forward Anthony Martial went down inside the Everton box under a challenge from Ashley Young. Referee John Brooks initially booked Martial for diving before VAR intervened. Brooks reviewed the incident on the pitch-side monitor and overturned his decision by awarding a penalty, which Marcus Rashford buried.

The home side struggled to build any momentum afterward, with Martial adding a third for the Red Devils in the 75th minute.

Dyche is a fan of VAR but is confused about what is classed as a clear and obvious decision. The Everton boss has already spoken to PGMOL chief Howard Webb this campaign and admits he plans on contacting the governing body once again for clarity. He said: "Seriously, I will be trying to speak to them and go: 'Right, OK, what is it (a clear and obvious error)?' We were told, as you know, that the directive was that we are going to give referees more power.

"The referee made a very strong decision and then, of course, the power is taken away. I have no clue, I'll just have to ring the powers that be and say: 'Can you explain to me again, I have asked like all managers do, what is an actual clear and obvious error and why' and all the rest of it.

"You can debate them all you want because everyone will decide one way or the other. For me, the idea of VAR is they look for contact and that's not the idea it should be, in my opinion. The referee made a solid decision, I thought, it was meant to be they're giving the referee the power then they say there's contact. You can find contact in every position. It's a tough one to call. If it went against us, would I be disappointed? No. I'd probably see why that wasn't given as a penalty."

Everton fans vehemently protested against the Premier League following the unprecedented points docking. Thousands lined the streets around Goodison before the encounter while they held cards saying 'corrupt' on before and during the game inside the stadium.

Dyche believes a synergy between supporters and his team is going to be imperative if the Blues are to avoid relegation, having dropped from 14th to 19th and are now five points adrift of safety.

He added: "We all know the recent news. It's unjust and all the words we can use about it. It's current fact until the appeal so, therefore, the mentality has got to be right. We kept trying to get something from the game, of course, it's difficult when the second and third go in, we hit the bar, we kept creating chances.

"The biggest positive for me, although it hasn't paid us back at home, is the chance count. It was incredibly high again but we've got to be clinical. It's a tough one for me to call because I thought the performance was right. The fans were terrific, they're having their own say in what's going on but I thought they were terrific. That's going to be important, that connection with our fans going forward."