Sean Dyche reacts to rumour he's joined Reform UK | OneFootball

Sean Dyche has confirmed that he has not joined Reform UK amid the circulation of an AI-generated image claiming that he has.

Sean Dyche has responded to an online rumour accompanied by an AI-generated image claiming that he has joined the right-wing political party Reform UK.

Dyche most recently managed Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest, who sacked him in February, following a 0-0 draw with subsequently relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 54-year-old has previously been in charge of Watford, Burnley, and Everton, and is a largely popular figure among several football fans in the country.

Reform previously caused controversy in the sport when their leader, Nigel Farage, visited Ipswich Town in March, and posed with a shirt that had 'Farage 10' printed on the back.

Ipswich's chief executive, Mark Ashton, later apologised for the visit following a backdrop of controversy.

Ex-Everton, Burnley, and Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche responds to rumour that he has joined Reform UK

Dyche's Forest successor, Vitor Pereira, has guided the City Ground club to Premier League safety, but also oversaw a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final.

Consequently, Villa reached the final at the East Midlands outfit's expense, and are set to face Bundesliga club Freiburg in the final on Wednesday, 20 May.

Meanwhile, posting on his Instagram story on Wednesday, the recently fired Forest boss said: "Warning to people following. There is an AI image going about saying I have joined Reform.

"NOT TRUE. End of!"

The 54-year-old's story responded to this X post that claimed: "Former Everton boss Sean Dyche has joined as a member of Reform UK."

That post accompanied an AI-generated image depicting the ex-Burnley manager in a suit and tie alongside a fake quote that said: "I've always believed in hard work, honesty and putting Britain first. That's why I'm backing Reform UK."

Dyche was quick to shut down those rumours, though, while he currently has 156,000 followers on Instagram.

What Sean Dyche has been doing since parting company with Nottingham Forest

Dyche began his management career with Watford in the summer of 2011, and he became a prominent figure for his exploits on the Burnley touchline.

The eventual Everton boss was appointed by the Clarets in October 2012, and remained in charge at Turf Moor until April 2022, when he was sacked.

His notable achievements with the Lancashire outfit included winning the 2015/16 Championship title, while he also led them to the Europa League play-off round in 2018.

A pub in Burnley, previously called The Princess Royal, renamed itself as The Royal Dyche in 2018, in honour of the Clarets' European qualification.

Meanwhile, since being sacked by Forest in February, Dyche has appeared as a pundit on talkSPORT, discussing topics such as who his former club, Burnley, should appoint as their next manager.

The 54-year-old also created his Instagram account at the start of May, and has shared content such as his radio clips and a throwback to his playing days at Chesterfield.

Famous faces among his 156k followers include Everton defender James Tarkowski, darts star Stephen Bunting, and legendary England cricketer Joe Root.

Dyche will likely hope to return to management next season and has established himself as a specialist for teams vying to secure their Premier League survival.

His recent Forest sacking shouldn't damage his stock too much, due to the volatility of the City Ground club's owner, Evangelos Marinakis.