It’s about the reality for Burnley Football Club
Leeds United are our cup opponents tonight and that brings their manager Thomas Christiansen to Turf Moor for the first time.
Christiansen was the surprise appointment to replace Garry Monk in the summer but he’s made a good start at Leeds and he’s confident his side can continue through to the next round of the cup.
They will need to bounce back from the defeat at Millwall and Christiansen said: “We haven’t had much time to think too much about Saturday’s result because on Tuesday we have another very important game against Burnley.
“It is good for us after a defeat to have another game so quickly and everyone is focused on it and wants to do well. I’ve spoken individually to the players about what went wrong on Saturday and what we need to improve on and we will go through this in further detail after the Burnley game.
“I know we are facing a good team from the Premier League who have started the season very well, but our intention is to go for the game and I believe we can go there and make it a good match. We know we will be coming up against a team with a lot of quality and it will be another tough match, like all the games we have had up until now.”
“It’s about the reality for Burnley Football Club, which is our continued journey in the Premier League. That doesn’t mean to do the League Cup down, just that as the Premier league has gotten stronger and stronger over the years, it becomes the more powerful thing to become involved in.
“The big clubs are still fighting for it, whether they change their teams or not. The reason for the change in our team in the last round was due to the fine margins in our squad. I was questioned for the changes I made against Blackburn, heavily questioned in some quarters, and yet the players gave a very good performance. We’ve got a really tight squad at the moment and fine margins are absolute between who plays and who doesn’t.”
Burnley signed two players from Leeds in the recently closed transfer window. Chris Wood has already netted two goals but Charlie Taylor’s only action came at Blackburn in the last round and he’s not even been on the bench for the last two games.
Dyche explained that: “It is almost impossible that Charlie is not involved at the moment,” he said. “He’s doing fantastically well and I thought he was terrific against Blackburn. It’s more of a tactical reason as to why he hasn’t been involved in the last two. His time will come, and he’s certainly applying himself correctly.
“He’s just one example of many who are really pushing, because there is a real competition in the group. It’s a good headache to have because we want players to be playing well.”
He feels Leeds are another club whose priorities are currently elsewhere as they sit top of the Championship, adding: “There’s a real shift there in expectation now that they’re top of the league. I know they had a result that went against them on Saturday but I think there will be a real shift in expectations.
“Their challenge is obvious; a big club trying to get back in the big league. I don’t know where the cup ranks in importance for Leeds but we have to take the game seriously, as we always do.”
As keen as he is to do well, he said: “The brand of the Premier League has a knock on effect to the entire area. The whole town benefits from the team being in the Premier League. A cup run can do the same but it is the constant attention which the Premier League brings. You don’t plan to lose a cup game. Winning a cup is a big honour which will remain forever, but being in the Premier League brings a constant stream of good health to a club.”
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