There are an awful lot of good signs about the group
Burnley travel to Crystal Palace tomorrow and a date with former England manager Roy Hodgson who took over the club he supported as a boy earlier in the season.
He’s certainly brought about some sort of recovery after their poor start. What has he done to improve things? “Encourage them to give their best and try to bring out the best in them,” he said. “I inherited a good group of players and it is a good working environment, and we try to take our work on the training pitch onto the field on a Saturday afternoon.
“We are where we are. My sole consideration is taking each match as it comes and there is no doubt our goal is to survive in the Premier League. That’s all we can concentrate on.”
Asked about Sean Dyche, Hodgson added: “He is doing an excellent job. He deserves the credit. He has built up a very good team and over the last couple of years he has got them playing well and picking up points in the Premier League. It is totally justified in my opinion.”
He even suggested he could land the England job Hodgson himself held. “Of course, why not?” he said. “The job of England manager is who the FA think is the right person for the job. Why should he not be considered?”
Sean Dyche has had to contend with a number of injuries in recent weeks but has been delighted with the performances from the players who have stepped in. “It’s very unusual for us to have this little run of soft tissue injuries because we’ve been so strong in that area for the last five years,” he said.
“It’s coincided with so many games coming over the Christmas and New Year period too, but hopefully, now the game schedule slows down a little and there’s a couple of free weekends on the horizon, we can ease people back and get them fit again.
“People like Charlie Taylor have come in and I think he is delivering. We know about Nick Pope and James Tarkowski, but Ash Westwood came in and did ever so well at Manchester City, so he’s showing clear signs that he’s looking after himself. Sam came back in and was a handful, so there are an awful lot of good signs about the group.”
We will go looking for our first win tomorrow since beating Stoke in mid-December but as Dyche explained: “We’re in a run of games against some really tough opponents, but at places like Manchester United we were three minutes, and arguably a decision, away from winning.
“Then we were dominant at Huddersfield and should have had a penalty, then lost to Liverpool in the last minute. Add in Tottenham and Manchester City and we’ve played some pretty big teams, and we’ve been unfortunate, I feel, not to have more rewards. We could easily have come out of that run with two, three or five more points.
“I don’t want to be too greedy over the season, but I have been delighted with the group and how they have adapted to the challenge of losing some players and now we want to keep moving forwards.
“They (Palace) will know we gave a good performance down there last season and we’ve happy memories of a good day, but they have settled things down this season and I don’t think anyone was in that much doubt that would happen.
“You look at the players they have and they are a better side than results in the early part of the season showed, and that’s been proved by Roy and his staff. He seems to have simplified things and they have players who are organised and willing to work, so we know it’s another tough challenge for us.”
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