RIGID AND TOO PREDICTABLE

Tarkowski reveals Burnley were stuck in a rut under Dyche: We became too easy to read... new boss ‘bounce’ worked for us

JAMES TARKOWSKI admits Burnley were stuck in a tactical rut under Sean Dyche and had forgotten how to win a game.

And the central defender says interim manager Mike Jackson has given them more freedom and they are playing with a smile on their faces.

That’s been underlined by an unbeaten four-game run since Jackson took the reins, a sequence of results that have put him alongside Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola as a candidate for April’s manager of the month.

The Clarets had won only four of their first 30 Premier League games but it was still a shock to the players and the footballing world in general when Dyche (top) – the Premier League’s longest-serving manager – was given the bullet by chairman Alan Pace.

The controversial decision has paid off so far and Burnley can pile the pressure on fellow strugglers Everton and Leeds – who both play tomorrow – by maintaining their winning run today against Aston Villa at Turf Moor.

“We got stuck in our ways with the old manager,” he said. “It wasn’t the manager’s fault, it was just the way the games went for us. We got very rigid, very predictable, we were easy to read. Sometimes that new-manager boost that everyone talks about does work.

“The new manager has given some of the players a bit more freedom. For some reason some players started to play within themselves. I’m not saying they were scared of the ball but they were maybe just keeping it simple.”

Tarkowski says Dwight McNeil is one of the players enjoying a new lease of life under Jackson, who was promoted from coaching the Under-23s. “Dwight is a great example of it,” he added. “He has shown in the last few weeks how good he is. He has been playing with a smile on his face again.

“Dwight has been given the freedom to go and do what he wants with the ball and what he feels is right. A talent like that means we need to just keep feeding him the ball and he will create chances for us. “It did feel a bit strange for a few days with the old gaffer not being there because we had got so used to the environment but sometimes change is needed and at the moment the results have shown it was the right thing to do.

“There’s been no drastic change but Jacko has changed a few minor details and reminded us how good we are.”

Tarkowski, set to leave Turf Moor when his contract expires at the end of the season, believes Jackson will be a contender for the permanent job if Burnley stay up.

“He was thrown in at the deep end but is doing himself no harm,” he said. “His stock has gone through the roof in recent weeks because we had forgotten how to win football matches and have now won three on the bounce.

“To a man every player has stepped up and performed. But the job is not done yet.”