That gritty determination is a marvellous thing
Burnley returned home to beat Leicester City 2-1 but it was a result that visiting manager Claude Puel found hard to take with him considering his team very unfortunate to lose.
He saw us take an early 2-0 lead before Jamie Vardy pulled one back in the second half and he was pleased with his team’s performance. He said: “Of course I was impressed because there was good concentration before the game and good duels at the beginning and it was close with the other team but to concede two goals quickly it was difficult to accept.
“After I think, like in the first half we had a lot of chances and we came back into the game early before the break. It was important to come back in the second half with quality and we improved in our play.
“We have had a lot of chances and it is a big disappointment of course because I think we deserved another result. It was not a fair result.”
Puel added: “I would like to say congratulations to Sean and his club because they showed consistency all season with strong quality and solidarity. Perhaps today we deserved another result. Today it was good to find my team again with quality and good play, with a lot of chances. It was for me another game than the last one.
“It will be important to keep a positive attitude for the next game and try to finish as high as possible in the table for the fans, the club and the chairman. We will have a strong game in the next game against Southampton. It will be very important, very crucial for us. They deserved perhaps another result against Chelsea and these two sides will play a crucial game.”
“If you imagine the mentality to come out of a run of eleven games in this league without a win and then put five wins together, that takes a tough mindset. There is a mentality that, if things go against us, it’s never because of effort or organisation. That gritty determination is a marvellous thing and all wins are important for many different reasons, but especially that one today.”
He continued: “You look at all aspects of a performance and today we’ve had to show both sides. I felt we took the game on with a front foot mentality and got a two goal cushion and saw the first half out pretty well. We were effective in all areas, but it’s hard to dominate ninety minutes of football, especially at this level, and the second half was a different affair.
“We started out brightly but they got a bit of momentum and at times there were almost five or six players in advance of the ball. That made it a different kind of game and we had to be resilient, had to work hard and do all the ugly things to see the game through.
“It’s the madness of football. If it had been 0-0 at half time, I don’t think they’d have played as they did in the second half, but they probably thought ‘what’s the worst that can happen’ and flooded the forward areas and made it very difficult.
“Then you have to grind out a result, and we did, with an outstanding display from Popey. He’s made some big saves over this season, and in general has been well protected by the team. Now and again you need to come to the fore and he’s done that today.”
Are we going into Europe? Dyche joked: “I think every person who has ever supported Burnley, even for one second of their life, would have taken me answering questions about Europe. There have been some tough times in these parts, both at the cub and in the area generally, and it’s bringing a smile to a lot of faces.
“It’s a very important thing. In this area the people back the club and the club backs the town. There’s a really big connection and days like these must be good for everyone.”
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