Dyche reminds Dons: ‘We’re minnows as well’
The irony was as deep as the shade of claret splashed so liberally around Burnley’s plush training ground on the outskirts of the trim Lancashire town.
Sean Dyche has complained about his side being the poor relations of the Premier League as they continue to struggle to pin down their first signing of the summer.
In one respect Burnley are currently underresourced. The club have sought special permission from Uefa to register another goalkeeper ahead of tonight’s Europa League second-round second-leg clash with Aberdeen.
The goalkeeping position is the one area where Dyche could have no gripes about. He has two England goalkeepersin tom heat on and Nick Pope on the books as well as former Manchester United player Anders Lindegaard. But Heaton has only just returned to training after a calf injury while Pope dislocated his shoulder in the opening stages of last week’s 1-1 draw at Pittodrie, with Lindegaard coming on.
Dyche wants special dispensation allowed to add another goalkeeper, No 4 choice Adam Legzdins, to his 25-man European squad. The original deadline for the submission of this squad was last Wednesday night.
The alternative is having only Lindegaard available. If he were to suffer a mishap then they would be forced to field an outfield player in goal. Perhaps imposing such a handicap is something Uefa should think about in ties between teams with such contrasting budgets.
Dyche stressed Burnley know all about trying to overcome a financial gulf because they do it most weeks in the Premier League. “When you look at the reality of it, how do you think we feel when we play against Manchester City?” he asked. “But we still take them on. We still make a game of it. We still challenge. The numbers go out of the window when that whistle blows.”
He was irked by suggestions last week that Burnley’s wage bill is as much as £60 million in discussions previewing last week’s first leg at Pittodrie. He claimed it is “only” £37m. Burnley pocketed £120m in prize and television money for finishing seventh; Aberdeen, meanwhile, received just £2.28m for ending up second behind Celtic.
Dyche claimed Burnley have managed to retain their soul. “That’s the idea of managing a certain way,” he said. “Don’t forget: we are wealthy in view of this game. We are not wealthy in the Premier League.
“Everyone else in the Premier League is looking down on us and going: why are they not spending, why are they not doing this and that, and how can they only
have that wage bill? We are actually the minnows of the Premier League.”
But the financial gulf between Scottish and English football is getting ever wider. Dyche was asked if he would consider dipping into the Scottish Premiership for talent. It didn’t sound convincing when he said yes, well, perhaps, well, maybe.
“We have scouts up there,” he said. “A couple of very good ones actually, well informed. The chances are the gap is too big at the moment to go straight in at the Premier League. Not so much at a club like ours – there is a bit of leeway at a club like ours.
“There was [Andy] Robertson of course. He came from nowhere-ish and came into Hull and did fantastic. There are players there. It is finding the right ones, those who can mature into it and grip it and run with it.”