Dyche lives the dream
SEAN DYCHE may not want to entertain talk of hosting Barcelona or Bayern Munich at Turf Moor next season but he will not deny Burnley fans their right to dream.
The smallest town to have boasted a Premier League club is revelling in its moment in the spotlight – especially since Dyche jokingly described himself as the “proudest man in Proudsville” after Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Stoke.
That result lifted Burnley into the Champions League places 30 years after they were playing to remain in the Football League and 13 years after Sir Alex Ferguson appeared at a fundraising dinner as the club battled to avoid administration.
The fact Dyche was sitting fourth in the Premier League even had one over-excited TV reporter asking the mayor of Burnley yesterday whether there were plans to rename the town “Proudsville” in honour of the manager’s joke.
But away from the glare of national TV stations, Dyche is all too aware what the success means to a town whose population – 87,000 – is not much over the capacity of Old Trafford which Burnley visit on Boxing Day.
“I’m proud of a lot of things, it’s not just the league position,” said Dyche. “I’m proud of how the club is managed, from top to bottom, how we’re bringing it forward each season.
“We’ve worked hard here to create a lot of new records, from when I first got here to where we are now.
“There’s a lot of work, not just from me but from my staff, my players, all through this club, to keep it moving forward.
“The fans have had a lot of that over the last five years, and I think they enjoy it but they are things for them look back on in 20 years’ time.”
The achievement is all the more remarkable given that Burnley have scored just 16 goals in 17 league games, a statistic that speaks volumes about Dyche’s tactical brain. REPORTS