Sean Dyche insisted he is not worried about Burnley’s run of results despite a 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle that sucked them towards the battle at the bottom. Dyche’s side have won only twice since January, with Sunday’s defeat the second match in a row where a half-time lead has ended in a loss, but the manager said it was a case of good performances going unrewarded rather than a crisis in form ahead of a trip to Old Trafford.
Sean Dyche said: “Our focus is on the performance. I don’t think we were far off last week (in the 3-2 loss at Southampton) and certainly not (on Sunday) but the main statistic you’ve got to get right is the scoreline. It not an easy place to go, Manchester United, but we’ll focus on the performance and if we keep performing like that we’ll see ourselves right.”
Burnley won 2-0 at Old Trafford last January and picked up a draw in the season before so, having already won away to Liverpool and Arsenal this season, may make the short trip down the M66 with little to fear. Indeed, their away record has been better than that at home of late, with their last win at Turf Moor coming over Aston Villa on January 27.
Sean Dyche added: “We just have to win. Home and away is one thing and that has been peculiar this season, we all know that. We can’t prove it but we all imagine it’s down to the crowd. Our crowd supports us well and very powerfully, but (Sunday) wasn’t about crowds or no crowds. It was about a dominant performance and not seeing it through and winning.”
Nick Pope missed Sunday’s defeat with a shoulder injury suffered at Southampton, with the England goalkeeper’s status for the United match uncertain.
Sean Dyche said: “He went down to make a save at Southampton and it hasn’t settled down. We were into risk and reward territory and in the end we decided it wasn’t quite right. Hopefully he’s OK for next weekend but we’ll see.”
