Boss Dyche won't take job for granted
Dyche was last week hailed by chairman Mike Garlick as “one of our best managers in our history” after securing back to back top flight seasons for the club for the first time since the mid-1970s.
He was Garlick and then co-chairman John Banaszkiewicz’s first, and so far only, managerial appointment, and won promotion to the Premier League against all odds in his first full season in 2013/14.
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Hide AdBurnley were relegated a year later, but returned as champions last summer.
Garlick admits there was never a thought to replace him after the Clarets returned to the Championship: “There’s got to be certain loyalty in the game for what Sean has done for us, and Sean’s team as well, getting us up there three years ago, which was the miracle.
“Then getting us up last year and keeping us there.
“For us it was never in doubt that we weren’t going to keep Sean.”
Dyche, as ever, remains a realist, however, and knows he will have to continue to deliver, to build on a legacy which also includes the new £10.6m Barnfield Training Centre at Gawthorpe.
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Hide AdAsked whether Burnley were ever going to sack him back in 2015, he admitted: “I don’t know.
“Football changes rapidly, you can go hero to zero on a weekly basis.
“Fans want change, the board want change, media want change.
“I’ve never been afraid of it because I know it’s a reality.
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Hide Ad“I don’t take my position here for granted either because we’ve achieved so much over the years.
“I know if you don’t win enough games you get him out.
“It’s the way the game is now, the demand of the game and the fans.
“At the minute we’re going well, we’ve had another good season on top of a few good seasons, but we’ve got to do it all again, otherwise people will say ‘nah, bored of him now’.”
Dyche has been linked with the vacant post at Premier League rivals Crystal Palace, although there has been no approach from the Eagles as of yet.
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Hide AdAnd Garlick accepts it is part and parcel of success that your manager and players will be coveted by other clubs: “If we’re successful, he’s always going to be on lists.
“We just have to make sure we’re hungry enough to keep driving things forwards and keep improving, and hopefully that keeps him motivated.
“He’s been here five years in October, personally I hope he’s here for another five years until 2022, and if we can achieve that, I’m sure we’ll have more success together.”