MX23RW : Wednesday, March 12 14:43:40| >> :600:102327:102327:

Sean Dyche calls on Burnley to "buckle up" amid congested schedule

The Clarets boss recalled Brian Clough taking his squad for refreshing walks down the River Trent.

Sean Dyche will not be coming up with any unusual training methods to break up the relentless schedule for his players – because he argues there is no time to do so.

Dyche began his own playing career at Nottingham Forest and recalled Brian Clough taking his squad for walks down the River Trent and an ice cream if they needed a change of scenery.

Lockdown hardly creates the opportunity for away days but even if it did, there is not much space in the diary as Premier League players face an unprecedented fixture pile-up which has taken its toll both mentally and physically.

"Managers used to have real free rein and trust," Dyche said. "Now it's slightly different. Not so much here, because I've been here a long time, but directors of football want to know your training schedules and what you're doing.

"If you say you're going down the Trent for an ice cream I'm not sure that always goes down well, although ironically sometimes it is needed to deload the players.

"Now it is more of a professional relentlessness. This is what you get paid for, this is your job, this is the schedule and these are the challenges. Buckle up and get on with it, end of."

After a rare full seven days between games last week, Burnley follow Sunday's punishing 4-0 defeat at Tottenham with back-to-back home games against Leicester and Arsenal on Wednesday and Saturday.

Sunday's reverse means the Clarets have won only one of their last seven Premier League games. That run, combined with Fulham's recent resurgence, has cut their advantage over the relegation zone to five points.

"My experience is I can't affect what other teams do," Dyche said when asked about the Cottagers. "I can only play against them so it's of no interest to me what other teams are doing...

"We can't affect others' results so we focus on ourselves."

The downturn in results has coincided with several injuries which have depleted Dyche's resources at a time when the fixture list allowed no time for recovery.

Chris Wood and Dale Stephens both returned as second-half substitutes at Tottenham but Erik Pieters and Ashley Barnes remain sidelined.

Dyche indicated that Robbie Brady and Johann Berg Gudmundsson are "close" to returning but admitted he needed to be cautious with two players who have suffered with a series of muscular injuries for some time now.

"We've maybe had to elongate their return," he said. "Other players with a similar injury you could maybe fast-track but when you've had so many niggles, if you always do what you've always done you'll always get what you've always got."

ID:437428: cacheID:437428:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4357:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Burnley manager Sean Dyche reacts on February 13, 2021
Read Next:
Sean Dyche has 'no problem' with pundits criticising Burnley
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd37247652282477
2Leeds UnitedLeeds362210472234976
3Burnley372015250113975
4Sunderland371912655342169
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom371317747331456
6Coventry CityCoventry37168135248456
7Bristol City37131594740754
8Middlesbrough37158145748953
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn36157144137452
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds37149145358-551
11Norwich CityNorwich371213125952749
12Watford36147154650-449
13Millwall361212123637-148
14Queens Park RangersQPR371111154248-644
15Preston North EndPreston37917113743-644
16Swansea CitySwansea36128163846-844
17Portsmouth36119164457-1342
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd36912153753-1639
19Hull City36910173645-937
20Stoke CityStoke36812163650-1436
21Cardiff CityCardiff37812174061-2136
22Derby CountyDerby3798203749-1235
23Luton TownLuton3797213460-2634
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth36612183673-3730


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!