Dyche’s McNeil blunder

DRAINED: Dwight McNeil SEAN DYCHE regrets not resting Burnley starlet Dwight McNeil against Newcastle.

The Clarets boss hauled McNeil off at half-time in Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat on Tyneside.

Dyche can see now the rookie winger was emotionally drained from the Clarets’ win over Tottenham three days earlier.

McNeil, 19, could still start against Crystal Palace tomorrow but Dyche said: “It was a step too far after Tottenham and it’s my fault really.

“Sometimes you’ve got to go, ‘no’. Physically he was in good shape, but mentally it could have been one step too far.

“He’ll definitely be in contention to start on Saturday, without a shadow of a doubt.

“He doesn’t understand this now, he’s too young, but when you’re a bit more mature and you look back on your career, you can see when you’ve had one or two of those games. Then it clears and you’re away again.”

Burnley were poor against Newcastle as they surrendered their eight-game unbeaten run.

Dyche claims the defeat taught them they cannot let their performance levels drop.

He added: “We’ve got to make sure that it’s just a bump and that we get on with it.

“For the players it’s a good reminder. They know they didn’t perform on Tuesday.”