Tarkowski credits Dyche method for England call-up
Burnley have their own way of defending, a traditional method drilled into the players by Sean Dyche as soon as they walk through the door. More than anything else it requires selflessness. Each defender has to put his body on the line, throwing his way in front of opposition shots, bucking his natural instinct to take cover. And he has to be forever aware of where his team-mates are, if they are tightly packed enough, not allowing the slightest gap to let in an opponent.
In the modern game, this old-school approach gives Burnley an edge. That is why a team that concedes so
much possession and so many shots can let in so few goals: just 26 from 30 Premier League games, the fourth best record in the country.
Because it is a method built on teamwork, not individuals, it has easily survived the departure of Michael Keane to Everton last summer. James Tarkowski replaced him in the first team and now, after 23 Premier League appearances this season, he has effectively replaced Keane in the England squad too. Tarkowski is in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the Netherlands and Italy game and, ahead of his debut, he spoke glowingly about the Dyche method at Burnley, how it goes against the grain, but how well it has worked for this team.
“Things are very basic, there’s no complications,” explained Tarkowski, spelling out what makes Burnley so good clearer than ever before. “We’re not trying to play some super-expansive football with people moving all over the place. We know what we are and we’re good at what we do.”
Much of what Burnley do, especially the way they block the ball, owes to Dyche’s own values as a player in the 1990s. “Like not turning your back when the ball gets smashed at you. Which you’ve probably seen 95% of players do,” Tarkowski explains. “And doing simple things right. Sometimes the simple things are harder to do than the more complicated things. Defending as a back four, moving round the pitch together. People in this league are constantly trying to pull you out of position. You make sure you’re always in the right spot at the right time.”
That is what Tarkowski, Ben Mee, Stephen Ward and the rest do every week, and to hear the 25-year-old speak at St George’s Park on Tuesday was to hear someone full of admiration for Dyche and his old-school methods. Tarkowski praised how Dyche is “very calm, very relaxed”, “in control of his emotions”, and who has built a group remarkably unified and coherent at the club.
But what is most interesting and important, when Tarkowski discussed the benefits of Dyche’s traditional defensive approach, is that things did not always used to be that way. When Burnley bought a 23-year-old Tarkowski from Brentford two years ago for £3million, they were signing a very different type of player. “Before I joined Burnley no-one ever said I was an ‘old fashioned English defender’. I was more a ballplaying centre-half. Playing out from the back in a Brentford team that was expansive, open, took a lot of chances. When I went to Burnley it flipped on its head. We take a lot less chances but do the basics right. I've found that has really brought my game on, keeping it quite simple at times but doing the defending – the most important stuff – right.”
So the big question for Tarkowski is whether he can now switch back to a style where he is encouraged to play out from defence. Gareth Southgate wants to play with three centre backs, built around Eric Dier, but
the two slots either side of the Spurs man are up for grabs. Chris Smalling has been dropped for being poor on the ball, while Gary Cahill and Burnley alumnus Keane have now been dropped too. Even John Stones, England’s best ball-playing defender, has struggled for form since an injury earlier in the season. So Tarkowski and Alfie Mawson now have their chance, and the Burnley man is desperate to take it.
“You’ve got to be adaptable to any kind of style of play, if you’re just sticking with one way, you can only play under certain managers. I’d like to think I’ve got both sides to my game, especially after being at Burnley for a few years. So hopefully I can adapt to that and fit straight in.”