Don’t give Pope a sermon

» DYCHE DEFENDS ENGLAND KEEPER » CRITICISM JUST PART OF THE JOB

SEAN DYCHE warned Nick Pope not to expect sympathy if he gets stick playing for England.

Burnley boss Dyche saw Pope criticised for his part in Poland’s goal in the World Cup qualifier at Wembley before England came back to win 2-1.

But his message is simple: Deal with it.

The major mistake was made by Manchester City star John Stones – but Pope (right) was called out by pundits for passing out to the Etihad defender who was caught in possession.

And as Burnley head to Southampton today looking to nudge closer to a sixth successive season in the Premier League, Dyche said: “Everyone in the world has an opinion.

“Part of a player’s development is to understand that and never more so than now.

“You’ve got the media, which is now international, and then the social media side of things. So it’s 50 times worse than it was when I was a player.

“But you shouldn’t need me to speak to you about that. That’s part of your world now and what you have to deal with.

“Of course, if they are worrying then I’ll speak to them, but I don’t need to if they’re not.

“Trust me, Popey is in great shape after keeping six out of seven clean sheets playing for England.

“You’re going to get opinions all the time and they won’t always be good – just deal with it.”

Dyche added: “Could John Stones’ first touch have been better? Maybe. Could he have laid it off ? Maybe.

“Could the pass from Nick been better, maybe – but this is modern football.

“If you want to play out from the back there is a risk with that and it does happen now and again.

“It’s a risk and reward scenario. But I don’t think Gareth Southgate will be overly concerned. Underneath, whatever people think of Nick Pope, Gareth knows he can stop the ball going in the net.

“You don’t think Pep Guardiola brought Ederson in unless he knows he can actually stop the ball going in the net? The package comes in many different forms and personally I think Nick is a top-class keeper.

“Whatever the way the goal went in, it wouldn’t have meant seven clean sheets.”