I can’t believe I bottled speaking to my hero Maradona
SAYS BURNLEY BOSS 4.00
» The home side is unbeaten in each of the last eight league meetings between Burnley and Newcastle (five wins, three draws). » Newcastle are winless in their last four away visits to Turf Moor in league competition, losing three and drawing one. » Newcastle have won 14 points from their first nine Premier League games this season – the best points tally at this stage of a campaign by a newly-promoted side since West Ham in 2012-13 (14). SEAN DYCHE has been rubbing shoulders with the stars.
On Monday he joined football royalty at the London Palladium for the FIFA awards; the following night he was invited to watch rock giants Metallica at the O2.
And an unusual week for Burnley’s much-coveted manager became even more surreal when he was installed as the favourite to become Everton’s new boss.
Dyche insists there has been no contact with the Merseyside club – and that it will be business as usual when the Clarets face Newcastle at Turf Moor tomorrow night.
But he did admit there were a few raised eyebrows when he returned to Burnley’s redeveloped training ground at Gawthorpe Hall after a couple of days away.
Dyche said: “When I came back in one or two of the lads said: ‘All right, gaffer? Still here then?’
“It was a little bit of banter because I’d been away from the club for two days – and that really is a long time for me because I’m usually always around the place.
“It was something different – and that isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes as a manager, you can work yourself too hard.
“So I went to the FIFA Awards with the chairman Mike Garlick. Messi was there and so was Ronaldo, of course, but I saw Maradona and the inner kid in me said I just had to go over and say hello to him.
“I didn’t – and I can’t believe it. I just wanted to tell him that as a kid I thought he was the most amazing player in the world. But I just couldn’t take myself over to him.
“The following night it was Metallica. I’m not a massive fan – and the last time I was in a mosh pit was for a Kasabian gig, when I’d just been sacked by Watford and nobody paid me any attention.
“My mate is in the music industry so I always ask him questions about what it’s like managing a band, how the roadies work, the team behind the team.
“I’m always trying to learn. But not talking to Maradona...”
Dyche isn’t usually one for regrets. He celebrates his five-year anniversary with Burnley ensconced in the top half of the Premier League. And while an offer from a bigger club would be tempting, the 46-year-old insists money is not a motivating factor when it comes to his future plans.
“In life, we all have decisions to make when we don’t know what is the right way to go,” said Dyche. “Should I walk? Would I be better off here? Should I go there?
“I am a believer that sometimes you really should be careful what you wish for because the grass isn’t always greener.
“The one good thing is that because I’ve spent a few years in the Premier League, then whatever I do won’t be about finance.
“If the day does come when someone makes me an offer, I don’t need the money.
“That’s a fantastic position to be in. I can make an informed decision about what I want to do.” Dyche’s star is in the ascendancy – and he’s happy to be flying the flag for English managers in the Premier League.
He added: “I’m actually really proud to be a young English manager in the top level of football.
“I’m actually really proud of what I stand for with my own club.
“I know what I am and I know how to deliver it. I know what I want and my players know what I want.
“People might think: ‘He probably wants to be a bit more like Pep (Guardiola) or like Poch (Mauricio Pochettino)’.
“But I don’t – I actually don’t. I’m really happy in my own skin and I’m actually really, really proud of that.”