Sean Dyche believes humour has been a useful distraction for Burnley in some situations where they have found themselves with their backs to the wall in the Premier League. Dyche’s offbeat exchange with reporters about lookalikes earlier this week was a topic that was revisited on a number of occasions as he previewed the visit of Brighton to Turf Moor this afternoon. The Burnley manager reflected that there have been low moments since joining the club in October 2012 and the Clarets’ current league position – one place and eight points above the drop zone – is no laughing matter but revealed he and his players have been known to occasionally relieve the tension with light-hearted comments.
Sean Dyche said “We’ve had some really tough times; very pressurised, full of anxiety and you’ve got to diffuse that at times. It’s certainly something I’ve believed in throughout my life. The hardest things can find the funniest moments, I don’t mean crass or awkward moments or horrible ones. It’s a deadly serious moment in our world but there still has to be a moment where everyone can relax a little bit. You still have to do the job, no matter who you’re playing against. A bit of humour doesn’t go amiss. I accept humour from the players as well. It’s not a one-way street, they can have the odd flippant or funny remark. Going back to lookalikes, we did have a lookalike board, I’m not going to tell you who was on it but there were some brilliant ones which the players put on themselves.”
It is unusual for top-flight managers to have light-hearted exchanges when the cameras are on in press conferences and Dyche thinks he knows why.
Sean Dyche said “If you try to have a joke or a one-liner or fun about anything, it’s turned around on you, virtually always. It’s a shame but that’s modern life, I get that. Some managers who probably have way more humour – and I know some that are for a fact – they just go ‘there’s no point because I ended up getting it turned on me’. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Most managers, in my experience, put a straight bat on it, bat it away and try to not show the truth of who they are.”
