Sean Dyche Appreciates Praise for Burnley Team

Sean Dyche is pleased his Burnley side are beginning to be appreciated for more than just hard work.

The Clarets failed to win any of their first 10 games following promotion but in their subsequent 10 games they have won three times and drawn four more.

Their last two matches have both ended in notable draws, with Burnley fighting back from 2-0 down at Manchester City last Sunday and then coming from behind three times on Thursday in a 3-3 draw at Newcastle.

Prior to the last week they had only scored more than once in two games this season, and their growing threat in front of goal is just one of the areas in which Dyche's team have caught the eye.

He said: "We spoke about it last year; it was a belief we put in place as a group and then people started running with it, this idea of being relentless in how we play.

"I think it's picked up. Incredibly, if you remember, after 10 games people were saying we were negative in our approach, which I then found incredible, and I still do.

"Manuel Pellegrini, I thought, spoke fantastically about us the other day when he said afterwards how brave we are in our play and how forward-thinking we are. He said that in private and he said it in the press.

"There are good signs of what we are trying to achieve this season, and we are trying to achieve it with a group who have more than just honesty.

"I am happy with the honesty and I am happy with the resilience and the energy and the physicality. But I think we have got some real quality and I think we showed that."

Dyche's team remain in the Premier League relegation zone but are only one point adrift of safety.

They take a break from the fight for survival this weekend, with Tottenham the visitors on Monday in the third round of the FA Cup.

Dyche has named the same team for six consecutive matches but will make changes, with defense a concern for the Clarets boss.

He had to make three substitutions in the first half at St James' Park, with captain Jason Shackell picking up a calf injury before his replacement, Kevin Long, suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury, while midfielder Dean Marney was unwell.

With Michael Duff having missed the last month with a calf problem, that leaves on-loan Michael Keane as potentially the only fit centre-half, and Dyche must check with Manchester United that he will be allowed to play.

Dyche's selection has stood out in contrast to a number of managers complaining about the congested schedule, but he played down the significance.

He said: "I choose a team that I think can operate to win a game, I have never really over-thought it more than that. It's up to other people.

"I believe in the whole squad and I always pick the team that I think can win a game, and it's not results-bound because you have seen, we have lost a game and then I have picked the same team.

"I must make it clear, though: every manager, every coach, every club has the right to do it how they see fit. If I need to make a change, then I make a change.

"(Against Newcastle) it was forced upon us, and I am pleased with the players. They know how much respect I have for them, those who are on the cusp of it, the subs and then the ones beyond that and they know how much pride I have got in the way they conduct themselves around the group.

"I thought that paid them back in spades because, once they got their chance, they were excellent."