We’ll be treating this game just as importantly as the next one

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Russell Martin brings his MK team to Turf Moor for the FA Cup 3rd round tie. It will be his first visit to Burnley as a manager and his last game against the Clarets also came in the FA Cup; he was in the Norwich team that beat us 4-1 at Carrow Road in the same round nine years ago. Just under a year earlier he was in the Norwich team beaten 2-1 at the Turf.

His playing career ended at MK last season when he took over as manager from Paul Tisdale just in time for them to go out of the FA Cup at home to Port Vale.

Embed from Getty ImagesAhead of this tie, his second in charge in this competition he said: “I see this as an opportunity, for us as a football club and a team, to test ourselves and show what we are about.

“I speak about culture a lot and Burnley have built a seriously strong one. I don’t think you’ll find a stronger culture than at Burnley. They know what they are about and their responsibilities are clear. I’ve got so much respect for what Sean Dyche has built there.

“I played against him when he was coming towards the end of his playing career but he wouldn’t remember me as I was a skinny young kid. I’ve watched his managerial career from afar but I listened to him during an FA Course during the first lockdown and that was very powerful. I’m exciting to come up against him for the first time.”

Martin added: “I’ve been on the other side of a Premier League team coming up against a lower league team and it can be difficult. In fact, my memories of the competition are bad ones of getting beat by lower league opposition. The biggest challenge for Premier League teams is to make sure the players have the right mentality but I know that won’t be a problem for Burnley because of Sean and their culture, he won’t allow anything less.

“We know it’s going to be tough but we have to embrace it. We should go there with no fear, with no expectations outside of this building. It’s a chance to show what we are about and we should embrace that opportunity.”

Embed from Getty ImagesBurnley go into the game in good form and manager Sean Dyche would have preferred last Sunday’s game against Fulham to have been played. “We were very disappointed to lose the Fulham game because we were in good shape and delivering good performances, with a good points return,” he said.

“The cup does offer something different, but it’s still one that we want to win ahead of a really heavy schedule. It’s a case of getting 14 players out there, and at this stage I think we will be fulfilling that. It might not be the 14 you’re always expecting to see, and as of today (Thursday) I think we can go beyond 14 against MK Dons.

“As for the cup itself, I’ve been here eight years and it’s the same story. I tell you where it lives and that it still has its place. It’s not as rewarding financially to the club as the Premier League and that’s a logical view. It doesn’t take away my emotion towards winning the game; it’s just a fact. I’ve always tried to be honest. It still counts; it just doesn’t count in the sense of the running of the football club.”

Dyche added: “We’ve had them watched, physically, twice and done the analysis, all the things we think are right and proper to play anyone. We’ll be running through the format we have come to believe in and which has served us well and making sure the players are aware of the opposition, while equally making them aware of the things we think we can do to take on the game and win it. We’ll be treating this game just as importantly as the next one in the Premier League.”

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