Dyche: Players Will Grow From Defeats

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2021-02-05T20:43:52.296Z

Dyche: Players Will Grow From Defeats

2021-02-05T20:43:52.296Z

Sean Dyche believes his players will grow in strength from the midweek defeat to Manchester City.

The Clarets restricted the Premier League leaders to just the two goals as they delivered another classy performance to strengthen their hold at the summit.

But Dyche feels the character in his side, particularly the way they worked in the second half to deny City more goals, will count for a lot when his squad take to the field against Brighton this weekend.

Dyche: Players Will Grow From Defeats - Image 1

“I’m never short of pride in the players, win or lose. Pride is not just a thing about winning. Pride is what we do and what we achieve by how hard these players work,” insisted Dyche, ahead of the club’s 250th Premier League game.

“Look, it’s very difficult when you play the big guns, and it sounds bizarre, but I said to the players after the game that we can actually learn from what we do against these sides.

“You are not playing them every week, but there’s a time when what we do works, as it did at Liverpool, when they were slightly off and we played very well.

PL PREVIEW: LIVERPOOL V BURNLEY - Image 3

“When you get that measure right, you can still be taking wins and points out of the Premier League so I was pleased with that.

“After the City game people were saying ‘oh, you didn’t have that many shots’, but they have been put together for £800m and if you imagine their training schedule, you have 20 players worth roughly £50m each.

"So when you do an 11 v 11, trust me, you are marking someone who is better, or as good as anyone in the Premier League.

“Just from a development point of view, on a daily basis, that develops you.

"Playing against better players all of the time will develop you.

"So, going back to the point, in that second half against City we got a hold of the game slightly through our structure, and that’s more pleasing than people think because it’s not easy to calm the game down and get a little foothold.

“That’s good signs from a side like ours, particularly with the injuries we’ve got, and the players will learn from those things.”

Chairman's Programme Notes: Brighton - Image 2

Having lost to City and Chelsea in their last two, the Clarets now have a run of games this month that offer a chance to add to the growing points tally.

But Dyche warned against complacency, with every game presenting a new challenge.

“It’s too simplistic to say these sort of games define your season because we beat Liverpool away and an emerging side in Aston Villa at home,” explained the Burnley chief.

“Brighton have also just beaten Liverpool and Tottenham, so it is too simplistic, but there are certain teams who people think you should be more competitive against.

“Everyone outside of the elite clubs will think the margins should be tighter, but points are just as important no matter where they come from.

Dyche: Players Will Grow From Defeats - Image 4

“I reflect on where we were after eight games and where we now are and that’s a big shift, so there’s a lot of good work being done and we have to continue working harder and harder because that’s how it is in the Premier League.”

He added: “Brighton are a good outfit. They are another club who have spent a lot of money over the past two and a half years and the manager has done some good work and stuck to what he believes in.

“He is willing to be flexible, as he showed at Liverpool. They had a tough spell, but they have come through it and so it’s another good Premier League game and another challenge for us.”