You can’t go there and not be up for the challenge
Burnley face Manchester City tomorrow, a trip to play the current Premier League champions and their manager Pep Guardiola.
The City manager warned his players that it could be a tough afternoon. ““Playing Burnley has always been a tough game, since I came here,” Guardiola said. “Long ball, second ball, they are so strong, especially at set-pieces, so we have to avoid making unnecessary fouls. “If we have to defend a lot of times in our box we will suffer with Barnes Vokes, they are so strong.”
He finally had a word for goalkeeper Joe Hart who will play against his former club this week having been honoured yesterday with the dedication of the training pitch in his name. Pep said: “I think Joe is undoubtedly important to the club. Tomorrow we will see how appreciated he is by our fans.”
Sean Dyche knows we could be in for a tough afternoon but he was quick to remind people that we have had decent results against them. “No one would have thought we would have got the 2-2 when we were 2-0 down there a number of years ago,” he said. “No one would have thought that, but at the end of the game we deserved it. So, can you operate? Yes. It’s probabilities and possibilities.
“Probably, over a season, they get the upper hand over teams like us. Possibly they don’t, and that’s what you work on in football, finding ways to win.
“I have been fortunate in my past that although I was a journeyman player. I played in lots of sides that had very good cup runs, very good performances and beat some big teams at certain times. That doesn’t give me an upper hand, but what it does, it means it can be done. I have witnessed it. We are a Premier League side. We are there for a reason, so we take it on and see what happens.”
He added: “We have to take on the challenge. You can’t go there and not be up for the challenge, because they are top class. You have to be on top of your game and that’s our main focus. We can’t guarantee results against any of these top sides, but what we can do is look to at least push towards us giving a proper performance, in our manner, to affect the game. That gives you at least a start, because if you’re not on top of your game then these sorts of sides hurt you.”
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