Burnley vs Manchester City: I do not have to defend our style of play to anyone, says Sean Dyche
The Clarets can have a decisive impact on the title race when they take on the champions
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Sean Dyche says he does not have to defend Burnley’s style to anyone as long as it keeps the club in the Premier League.
Dyche’s side could have a major say in the title race this weekend, with leaders Manchester City visiting Turf Moor tomorrow.
Burnley go into the game having more or less secured their top-flight status after a 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Monday took them to 40 points, nine clear of the relegation zone with three matches to play.
But they faced heavily criticism from their opponents afterwards, being accused of playing “anti-football” by Chelsea defender David Luiz.
Manager Dyche, though, says that such complaints are ridiculous.
He said: “I don’t have to defend anything. There are no rights and wrongs to football in my opinion.
“I can’t remember ever going into an interview and saying: ‘It was a disgrace: Man City had 800 passes. That shouldn’t be allowed.’
“The idea of football is to try to win. You work backwards from winning. But win you must. You have to win to stay in the Premier League. That’s massive.
“People think it’s just about the team. There’s more than that here at Burnley. There’s the finance of the club, there are the fans, there’s a town that buzzes off the fact that we’re in the Premier League, so there’s a bit more to it. Win first.”
Dyche argued that it is unreasonable to expect all Premier League teams to play the same way, because the financial gulf between teams is so vast.
He said: “Rugby teams don’t all play the same way, you know. American football teams don’t all play the same way. Basketball teams don’t. So why should football teams only play one way? They simply won’t because not everyone can do the same thing
“The only way they can do it is to have the draft system, and then we would all have the same players, and it would be down to the coach or the manager to come out with a strategy that wins.
“The Premier League is not a level playing field, and yet everyone talks about it as if it is. So therefore, how do you operate on a non-level playing field to win and be successful? That’s how I look at it.
“If I went to a different club with different skills sets, trust me, I’d play a different way. We would play a way where they could win games, because inevitably, that’s what I’m judged on, you know.
“At the end of the season, no one will bother about how we did it. They’ll just look and see that Burnley are in the Premier League again.”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp suggested this week that title rivals City face a daunting afternoon against Burnley, but he also criticised their tackling after his team won 3-1 at Turf Moor in December.
Dyche said: “It’s possibly flattering, it’s possibly a view, just a view. It’s funny. Other managers – not just Klopp, other managers – sometimes question what we do and yet after the event, they go: They’re hard to play against. Do you want us to be easy to play against?
“You’ve just got to win. If he’s referencing that we’re a tough side to play against, then I hope that’s the case, because that’s exactly what we want to be.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments