Our job is to go and deliver another big performance
Burnley travel to Sheffield United tomorrow and one thing that has come through loud and clear this week is the respect the two managers have for each other.
Blades’ boss Chris Wilder said: “I played against Sean a few times. It doesn’t bother me that he’s younger than me, he’s had more success than me and he’s been through the process. There’s quite a few managers I would pick up the phone to and he is definitely one. It is an individual sport, but there is that feeling in the professional game that if anyone will help you out, they will do. I’m grateful to him for picking up the phone with the success he’s had.”
He added: “He’s a Northamptonshire boy and his lad was in the academy when I was there. I’ve not really spoken to Sean tactically. Everything I’ve talked about has been non-football if you like, other things that surround the Premier League, possibly in the Championship too. There were personal situations and things like that.”
It’s not every manager that Wilder has that relationship with. “There are certain ones I won’t name that I wouldn’t ring,” he said. “We’re all after the same things for our clubs and that’s three points. The battle takes place on the pitch. That’s why I can be pals with Sean, but for that period during the game, we’re after the points. I would think Sean has people he speaks to as well, that we have a little bit of a collective.
“Sean goes his way and I go my way. The one thing we both ask our teams to do is run around and compete. I’m not embarrassed to say that’s what I want my teams to do. Being organised and being disciplined. I’m not embarrassed by that and I don’t think I should be. I don’t think Sean should be either.
“What he’s done has been exceptional, getting into the Europa League. They’re a benchmark for clubs like ourselves who want to stay in the Premier League. I like his team and the way they play together. They’ve got good individuals, they’ve got a plan, they play in a way that’s effective. Sean doesn’t get caught up in the hype that surrounds the Premier League and there is a lot. I admire the way he does that.”
“We certainly don’t think it’s anything other than another very tough game. I think they’ve adapted well to the reality of the Premier League. I just hope they don’t do it well on Saturday, of course.” Dyche clearly has respect for Wilder and when asked he said: “Certainly before and after, a lot of respect, during, very little respect because we’ve got to go and do a job and that’s what we want to do.”
Looking forward to that game, Dyche said: “We know we’ve got to be ready for a challenge, without a doubt. They’ve got good points on the board early doors. They keep it tight, defend tight but they have been flexible to get enough from games. I think that’s one thing we have got to be wary of.
“Chris has done well in the fact that last year they had a very recognisable way that they wanted to go about it. This year they’ve been more adaptable, kind of realised that it is hard to dominate games or to be forceful in games. They’ve had to be patient, they’ve had to defend well and they’ve had to be flexible within that, so they’re learning quickly.
“Our job is to go and deliver another big performance. That is something we have to do anyway but it definitely is on Saturday. We want to take the game on. I said after the game against Chelsea that I don’t think we’re a million miles away. We created a lot of very good chances. We got punished for a couple of moments, but there were some good things in the performance and now we’ve got to take that on again and keep building on those performances because when we perform right we know we can get our rewards.
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