Dyche: Signs Are Right

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Boss feels Clarets heading back in the right direction ahead of tough City test

2020-11-27T11:33:10.047Z

Dyche: Signs Are Right

Boss feels Clarets heading back in the right direction ahead of tough City test

2020-11-27T11:33:10.047Z

Boss happy with selection options as Clarets look to make squad strength count

Sean Dyche believes a building block is in place for a sustained recovery as the Clarets look to keep climbing the Premier League table.

Dyche’s men face a tough trip to former champions Manchester City on Saturday.

But they go to the Etihad Stadium having moved out of the bottom three with a first league win of the campaign over Crystal Palace.

And Dyche believes Monday night's 1-0 victory was another major step in the right direction towards giving the league table a healthier appearance from a Claret perspective.

“I’ve seen it look better in my time here. But you’ve got to get a start point,” said the Burnley boss.

“It wasn’t just that game (against Palace). I think three clean sheets in the last five was a kind of feel of what we were trying to do.

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“We are never blessed with making 25-odd chances, but we often carve out some very good ones, which we did against Palace.

“We didn’t take them all, and on another day hopefully we would, but that was a good sign, because defensively I thought we were solid.

“Obviously, Popey came into action twice and made one massive save, a very important save, but other than that I thought we defended well, as well as creating some good chances.

“Every year is a big challenge. It’s a re-start as I call it. There’s always an awareness we can have a tough spell in the season.

“It’s just that this one has come at the very beginning, which isn’t ideal. But we are showing signs of coming through it, that’s the main thing.

“It doesn’t guarantee the next one, that’s for sure, especially when you’re playing someone with the prowess of Man City.

“But it’s definitely a building block to move forward and get ourselves back to where we think we can be.”

Goalkeeper Nick Pope may miss the trip to City, who have given Burnley a tough time on their own patch in recent seasons but have won just once in three home games this season.

Pep Guardiola’s side will still pose a considerable threat, having knocked the Clarets out of the League Cup earlier this season and advanced to the last-16 of the Champions League with a mid-week win at Olympiakos.

But the Clarets are unbeaten in their last two away games – without conceding a goal – and Dyche will be looking to maintain the upward curve and bring something back from the Etihad for the first time since 2014.

“I thought we were getting closer to what we expected from the team, performance-wise,” he added.

“I said all along that if you get that right you increase your chances of a win. We got that win. That was good against a Crystal Palace side that was going well.

“I spoke very early season about the margins and getting on the right side and we did on that occasion.

“We got a nice three points and everyone in this camp reminds themselves of what we do and when we do it we’re effective.

“That’s what we look to be in our games – effective. If you get your effective football right, we think we can get points on the table, like we’ve shown before.”