We must continue to believe in what we are doing
Burnley travel to Brighton tomorrow to face a team that is now in its third season under the management of Graham Potter who replaced Chris Hughton in the summer of 2019.
In yesterday’s press conference he was strangely asked if it had been easy to get his players up for their game at Old Trafford in midweek but not so much against Burnley. He said:”We’ve shown a consistent level of performance all season. I think you need to do that. We’ve always been respectful of the competition.
“You have to start from the start of the game and try and win and Burnley are very competitive, they’ve drawn a lot of games and their performances have been good so they will be looking to turn those little margins their way and so we are expecting a tough game. But we are excited for the game and we are looking forward to it.”
Playing against a Burnley team who are currently bottom, he was asked about Sean Dyche having pulled us away from danger previously. Potter said: “I think he’s not only done that but he’s also helped Burnley get into the top half of the Premier League at times as well, so it’s a combination of lots of things.
“I think Sean will say himself, this league is so competitive, so difficult, you only need a few things to go wrong and the margins go the opposite way and you can find yourselves in trouble. but he’s a vastly experienced manager who organises the team really, really well that play to their strengths that have a fantastic attitude all the time to play football.
“They stick together. They are a compact team. Everybody knows what they are doing and as I said they are effective in what they do but the downside to everybody is we are playing in the best league in the world and it’s hard to get points and that’s the reality.
“I’m sure they’re not (complacent). It’s the Premier League and it’s more and more competitive. As everybody says, at the top of the league you’ve got three of the best teams in Europe and throughout the league there’s real strength in depth.
“So you only have to get a few draws and you miss the wins and maybe pick up a few injuries to key players and you fall behind with the fixture schedule and you are playing catch up a bit. Then it can be tough but, they’ve got the experience, they’ve got the knowhow. I don’t think they’ll be writing themselves off.
“I’m certainly not writing them off at all. They’ll get points between now and the end of the season. We’ve just got to make sure it’s not against us.”
“The last couple of seasons, they have needed a win or so to get over the line but this season, with a bit more experience to their group, and working with their coaching team, they have shown they are a very good outfit.
“I have always thought they are a good team and they have taken their moments in matches when it counts. We haven’t been far away ourselves with that, but their lives are different, they have taken their chances and we haven’t on occasions and that has been the difference this season.
“It is another challenge for us in the Premier League and we know the Premier League well. I have a lot of respect for Graham and his team.”
Dyche has seen us draw three of the last four games, the one defeat coming somewhat unfortunately against Liverpool.”I take great value in the group, in who they are, what they are and their honesty as people, not just players. We are honest and open; it is not just a one way street. We have a shared view, but we have done that many times during the course of the season.
“It is important to reference we have regular meetings when we are flying and finished seventh in the Premier League. We did it after the pandemic when we didn’t have hardly any players and we were winning games.
“We have held those meetings to lock in what is right when we are going well, so there is a balance, we don’t just do this when things are not going well. We have looked at the positives and locked in those positives which makes us right and who we are.
“We have to balance that and look at things when it is not going as well. Sometimes it has a bigger effect than others but this time it has shook down the situation for all of us and let’s get back to who we are, and I think we have done.
“We are a goal or two away from having another three points on the board from this recent run of games and that would give it a different feel. The fact is that we haven’t, but we must continue to believe in what we are doing and we will do.”
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