Dyche: ‘There Are No Excuses’ – I Counted Three

Burnley manager Sean Dyche says ‘there are no excuses’ after his side’s 1-0 defeat at Swansea City on Saturday, yet I counted at least three, as their winless run extends to 10 Premier League games.

Dyche commented on the ‘pretty tricky pitch’ at the Liberty Stadium, injuries and Swansea’s new manager bounce, before insisting that they weren’t excuses for another poor result.

He didn’t hold back on how ‘lacklustre’ the Swans were before their revival under new boss Carlos Carvalhal. He described us as ‘lacklustre, no energy, no performance level’, and yet:

Nine games later, here they are, the madness of modern football.

“A new manager comes in and all of a sudden they`re running harder, playing harder.

“That still makes it a different challenge.”

Dyche also had a pop at our own fans, and how we were behind them today unlike 8 games ago:

‘But the reality is that a team that eight games ago had nowhere near this kind of endeavour, with the crowd not behind them like they were today, suddenly they have those things. When a new manager comes in, sometimes that is the way it goes.’

Burnley have had an incredible season, there’s no doubt about that. Despite not winning in 10, they’re still in 7th place which is a superb achievement, so it makes you wonder why Dyche has reacted to defeat the way he has. It’s no different to previous games he’s failed to win. He’s often one to complain about referee decisions or other factors, without ever acknowledging the opposition.

Dyche continued:

“Today there`s nothing in the game and we arguably had the better chances, without being great. A bit huff and puff, energy, forcing chances at times.

“And they`ve nicked one from a poor clearance from us and drive across the box and it hits two people on the way in. And you think, ‘how can we find one of them?`

“Sometimes it`s as simple as that.

“There wasn`t a lot in the game, arguably we had the better chances, although not golden chances, but the better share of the chances.

“The margins are so tight, even early season, I try and call it on a balanced view, and when we were winning, I did say they were tight games, but I think the performances were stronger in general.

“But we had a stronger squad, fully fit.

“There are no excuses though.

“I think the players are learning, some are maturing into what the Premier League is all about, because some haven`t played that much, but the margins are tight and you have to find a way of getting on the right side of them.”

There are no excuses, yet they kept coming:

“It`s got a chance of having an impact (Swansea options on the bench) because they`ve bought in players and have some decent players.

“But I didn`t think it was a radical impact. Sometimes psychologically it has an impact, you get a crowd getting behind players, but it`s hard because we`re not far away as I said to the players.

“The margins are really fine.

“We have to get players back fit, because I think this squad has worked so hard, it needs that depth to come back fit to allow it to breathe again, and let us take stock with a group to work as a unit again.

“That`s important.

“Plus my record down here is rubbish, so that doesn`t help. I knew it before the game, you know when you get that thing you can`t shake, and you go ‘forget that`. Every time I`ve ever been to Swansea, as a player, a coach, manager.

“It`s rare for me, I`ve got rid of a load of those, Ipswich, Bolton, Blackburn, really powerful ones, but I`m still waiting to shake this one off.’

The media have asked in recent months why hasn’t Dyche been offered a bigger job elsewhere in the Premier League? Why wasn’t he approached for the Everton job when they failed to get Watford’s Silva. Having watched his Burnley side on Saturday, it’s quite obvious. The tactics and style of play is dated, to say the least, and it’s definitely not a style of play that a top 6 or top 8 side would be interested in.

Yet, Everton appointed Sam Allardyce which suggests that they got desperate in the end, having gone from wanting Marco Silva – and failing, to appointing the former England manager. The chalk and cheese of football managers. Allardyce was a free agent, while Dyche would have been harder to prise away from Burnley, and it was a case of having to get someone in as soon as possible after their worrying form under Ronald Koeman and then caretaker boss David Unsworth.

Back to Dyche then, it’s disappointing to see a manager doing so well and still refuses to be more balanced, and full of excuses despite insisting that they weren’t.

But who cares, we got the result which I think we deserved for being more positive in the second half after a forgetful first. Carvalhal continues to impress and guide us to excellent results – long may it continue!