Dyche can see Barton moving into management

Sean Dyche admits he can see Joey Barton moving into coaching or management when the time is right for him to hang up his boots.
Joey BartonJoey Barton
Joey Barton

Barton rejoined Burnley earlier this week, and could make his second debut on Saturday at Sunderland in the FA Cup third round.

At 34, Barton - based on his efforts with the Clarets last season - clearly still has something to offer on the pitch.

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But he also has an influence off it, as Andre Gray acknowledged at the weekend, saying: “He’s a massive addition for us, even in the changing room.

“He was massive for us last year and he will be this season.

“He knows the league and even if it’s not on the pitch, it’s off the pitch where he can gives us that bit of knowledge that some of the boys don’t have as much.”

And, asked about Barton's potential beyond playing, Dyche said: "He’s at that age where players start looking at things differently, the profession, the game, the tactics, the understanding of the football business, so that’s quite a natural thing.

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"He’s not specifically mentioned his future to me, it’s just a generalised chat about what we do and what it is.

"He’s got a lot of experience to reflect on from different managers and coaches and environment. "There’s already a depth of knowledge on the coaching side I would imagine, whether he chooses to go down that route is for him to decide.

"There’s traits in him and there's an understanding of the business, off the pitch as well as on it."

However, as Dyche accepts, there is no stereotypical managerial profile: "There’s things about coaching and management, even when I look back at my own career, there’s not really a specific trait or traits that make a manger definitely. There’s so many different types of people that manage clubs, and coaching is the same.

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"I know coaches that are very quiet yet are very enthusiastic on the coaching field, almost like growing into it as a role, they come off the field and are quiet again.

"I know others who are bullish and quiet full-on, others who leave the players to run the professional side of it and they just coach the tactics.

"There are so many different ways of doing it that I don’t think there is a right way. There’s different ways of doing it, and there’s no doubt that Joey would have his own way of doing it, that’s one thing I’m 99.9 per cent sure of."

Barton has a reputation for not being slow in coming forward in the dressing room and on the pitch, something which had a positive effect with Burnley, but less so at Rangers.

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And some will have issues with his temperament, though Dyche said: "The implication is about his temperament, but when you’re offering others the chance to do whatever, it’s sometimes a different thing than when you’re going yourself.

"There’s so many people who reflect differently when they work with others to what they do on their own careers.

"That’s something he would decide on. The easier one is it used to be great player goes into management at a club with players who aren’t great as him, and says ‘why don’t you just do what I used to do?’.

"Those days have gone. They’re gone across the board. Players that do go into those roles will explain those things through more, that’s a great part of the coach and manager education, to open up that more educational route for players where that doesn’t happen anymore. Some players can’t do it how you used to do if you’re a top player."