Burnley Stadium
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Mike Jackson confident Burnley will bounce back after Premier League relegation #BURNLEYFC

May 24, 2022
MIKE Jackson is confident Burnley can find answers to the difficult questions that await after Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle brought an end to their six-year stay in the Premier League. Relegation means the Clarets must repay a “significant” portion of a £65million loan taken out as part of ALK Capital’s leveraged buyout in December 2020 while also rebuilding their squad – nine first-team players are out of contract this summer while several others will be transfer targets for rivals. There is also no permanent manager – Jackson stepped up from his role with the under-23s after Sean Dyche was sacked last month – so it remains to be seen who will be trying to solve a number of these problems. But asked if he believed the club was in safe hands given their potential financial problems, Jackson said: “Why wouldn’t it be? I can’t comment about all the stuff you’re speaking about. “But there are good people here who want to do well, who want the club to bounce back. It’s about small steps, planning, and making sure you’ve got everything in place to be able to do that.” Captain Ben Mee, James Tarkowski, Jack Cork and Ashley Barnes are among the players who can walk away from Turf Moor, while there will be suitors for the likes of Nick Pope, Dwight McNeil, Maxwel Cornet and Wout Weghorst. Television money made up 90 per cent of the club’s revenue in the latest set of accounts, so the loss of their Premier League status is certain to put a considerable strain on finances and limit their ability to replace the talent that will depart. What the side will look like on the opening day of the Championship next season is a question Jackson cannot answer. “It’s hard to comment on that with what’s just happened,” he said. “You can’t say, ‘This is going to happen’ – I don’t think you can do that. “There’ll have to be a reflection on what’s gone on. Like everything else, it’s small steps, you have to find your way back when things happen like this. You have to take small steps to get yourselves going again and I’m sure that’s what the club will try and do.” Having taken 11 points from eight games and given Burnley the chance to save themselves on the final day, Jackson could himself be a candidate for the permanent job if he wanted it, but in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s defeat the 48-year-old insisted he had little interest in discussing it. “I understand you’ve got to ask the question but I don’t think that’s for now,” he said. “I’m not really bothered about myself at this moment in time. I know how I’m going to feel, I’m going to go and suffer. “I’m more gutted for the group and for the fans. When you work so closely with the group like that, see what they’ve put in and you see them after it hurts you, it stays with you.”
Ashley Barnes Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Mike Jackson demands more of the same from squad and Ashley Barnes calls out refree decisions #BURNLEYFC

May 21, 2022
BURNLEY caretaker manager Mike Jackson wants no change in mentality going into Sunday’s relegation decider against Newcastle but admitted his players must manage the emotions of the game. After Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa, Burnley go into the final day of the season outside the bottom three on goal difference, knowing if they can match Leeds’ result away to Brentford they can look forward to another season in the top flight. That would complete a remarkable turnaround with Jackson having won three and drawn two of his seven games since replacing Sean Dyche, but the pressure has been on at Turf Moor for some time given the predicament they were in, and Jackson said Sunday would be no different. “I think every game we’ve had since I’ve been here, they’ve said it’s a must,” he said. “We must get something out of this game or that game, and the lads have been delivering. The performances have been strong. “In the Villa game at home we made some errors, we made an error for the goal last night, but the players have had that around them now for the last six or seven games, they’re used to living in that and that will stand them in good stead. “We know Sunday is going to be emotional. We’ll try and take that out of it, use some of it, take a bit of fire from it and go and attack the moment again.” Jackson called Burnley’s performance at Villa Park an “absolute masterclass in defending” as they battled to take a point, going ahead through an Ashley Barnes penalty before Emi Buendia brought Villa level after a move that began with an apparent foul throw from Matty Cash. But it was another display that told Jackson his players are handling the pressure. “I think that’s where they’re at their best,” he said. “When I watch that game back, some of the work put in, the details we’ve worked on and been focusing on. “If you take all the noise out of it, we’ve come away with a point. We still have to get some sort of result so it’s not really changed anything. “We’re in a little bit of a better position and we’re just looking forward now.” Burnley conceded a contentious penalty in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat by Tottenham for a Barnes handball, but were denied a spot-kick of their own at Villa Park for a similar incident involving Lucas Digne. Barnes pointed to both that, and Cash’s foul throw, in calling for greater consistency from officials. “The consistency of the VAR situation and the referees, the decisions, they have to improve,” the forward said. “We were waiting five minutes at Spurs for a decision and the same yesterday. They were exactly the same, his probably more clear than mine, but because my arm was stretched out they gave it. The decisions are vital. “You’ve seen the throw-in as well that leads to their goal. It’s a hard one to take, he’s on the pitch when he threw it.” Barnes was in the Burnley squad when they suffered their last relegation eight years ago. The 32-year-old was also part of the side that earned European football in 2018, but said avoiding the drop this weekend would be a high point in his Clarets career. “It would be a huge achievement from where we were,” he said. “To win three games in 20-odd, that’s not good enough, that’s relegation staring at you. The lads have done well to turn it around and hopefully now we can get this final win at the weekend, get out of there and be safe.”
Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley boss Mike Jackson’s verdict on Aston Villa draw #AVFC #BURNLEYFC

May 20, 2022
INTERIM boss Mike Jackson insists Burnley’s plight was never helpless after they edged to the brink of safety. The Clarets’ 1-1 draw at Aston Villa lifted them out of the Premier League’s relegation zone ahead of Sunday’s final games. They are 17th, above Leeds on goal difference, with Newcastle visiting Turf Moor and their drop rivals going to Brentford. Ashley Barnes’ penalty gave the Clarets the lead before Emi Buendia levelled but Nick Pope’s saves from John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Danny Ings and Bertrand Traore kept Burnley’s survival hopes alive. Jackson, who had Matt Lowton sent off in stoppage time, said: “I never looked at it as helpless, I looked at it as we needed to get something from this game. You can’t hide away from it. “For what the group went through tonight, the spirit and fight they put into it was amazing. The game wasn’t a silky football match but we knew what we needed to do. “It was the least we wanted to come away with, so we’re pleased with that. “Nick was amazing. He has been doing that continuously, look at his quality and the way he has been progressing. He is in great form.” Pope saved well from McGinn after 20 minutes but Burnley took the lead a minute before the break when Buendia chopped down Maxwel Cornet in the box and Barnes buried the penalty. Villa levelled three minutes into the second half when Buendia ran from deep to meet McGinn’s cross and his volley squeezed past Pope. John Brownhill tested Emi Martinez and Pope continued his one-man wall to keep out Watkins’ sharp drive. Lucas Digne then survived a VAR check for handball with Jackson questioning the decision. He added: “With VAR, there shouldn’t be an issue. It’s very clear. That’s why it was brought in. It’s gone, although we’ll rant about it on the way home and I’ll kick the dog when I get in.” Pope saved his best until 10 minutes from time, keeping out Traore’s glancing header with a brilliant low one-handed stop. There was still time for an excellent Tyrone Mings block to deny Wout Weghorst a late winner after Martinez saved from Connor Roberts. Former Villa defender Lowton was also dismissed in stoppage time for a foul on Calum Chambers. The point kept Villa 14th ahead of Sunday’s final-day trip to title favourites Manchester City but boss Steven Gerrard was unhappy Barnes stayed on the pitch after clattering Mings early on. He said: “We should have been playing against 10 men from a very early stage. It’s a clear red card. “The PGMOL said there wasn’t enough force for it to be a red card. I heard it and I was 60 yards away. Have you got to break someone’s cheek or make someone go off the pitch for it to be a red card? “We lacked that little bit of quality to score, in general play we were miles better than the opposition. We made an individual error to make a challenging task a lot more complicated for ourselves. “The league doesn’t lie over 37 games, it won’t lie after 38 and 14th isn’t good enough for this club and we need to address that.”
Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Mike Jackson believes Burnley need to learn lesson after Aston Villa Clash #AVFC #BURNLEYFC

May 20, 2022
MIKE Jackson hopes Burnley can show the lessons they learned from their recent meeting with Aston Villa when they head to Birmingham for tonight's crucial clash. Unusually, both the league meetings between the clubs are taking place inside a fortnight, and the Clarets will need to put in a better performance than in their 3-1 home loss if they are to pick up the point they need to climb out of the relegation zone. “I can’t say too much about it, but we learned a lot as a group,” said interim boss Jackson. “I learned a lot as well about myself regarding what the game was and what the game was asking. “We know that now. We knew that on the day but you learn these little things afterwards sometimes. In the moment they don’t go the way you want them to go so you pick the bones out of it. “There’s things we know we could have done better on the day but we still created chances. So take the good out of what we did but be a bit more wary.” Jackson is hoping some of his injured players will be fit in time for either this match or Sunday’s final game of the season against Newcastle. That will not include either midfielder Ashley Westwood or striker Matej Vydra, with both sidelined for a number of months. Vydra recently underwent surgery for a cruciate ligament injury but, like Westwood and captain-turned-coach Ben Mee, has continued to help out where he can. Jackson said: “Everybody in the whole place is trying to do their bit and, for them to see their mate coming in, hobbling around, everyone’s all in on it. That’s a big strength. “For me that is everything, having them around. They are big characters and players so, even if they are not involved, when the group sees them, it keeps them at ease and they know they are with them and they can lean on them.” If Burnley are to escape relegation, they are likely to need two big performances from goalkeeper Nick Pope, who once again showed his quality in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Tottenham. Jackson said of the England stopper: “He’s been outstanding. He’s been like that for a long time but I’ve seen improvements in quite a few of the players as well. “It doesn’t surprise me with the hard work he puts in and I think you get to a stage at the level he is, where I think that’s expected of him and I think he expects those standards of himself. “That’s what the top players have, they have this belief and they work at these levels and they try to keep pushing themselves all the time and he does that. But he’s been terrific, he’s a top, top goalkeeper.”
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley interim boss Mike Jackson issues team news ahead of Aston Villa clash #AVFC #BURNLEYFC

May 18, 2022
MIKE Jackson is hoping Burnley will be boosted by the return of several players from injury ahead of their crunch clash with Aston Villa on Thursday. The loss of central defensive pairing James Tarkowski and Ben Mee has been a particular blow but both are now back on the grass and could feature at Villa Park. Tarkowski, who picked up a hamstring injury in the home clash with Villa 10 days ago, is the more likely, with captain Mee having not featured since the beginning of March. Striker Jay Rodriguez and midfielders Dale Stephens and Johann Berg Gudmundsson have also been training, leaving Ashley Westwood and Matej Vydra as the only definite absentees. Interim boss Jackson said: “They’re all out running, which is really good, going through fitness tests. If we can get them back for these two games, whether it’s this one coming up or the last one, that’ll be a big boost to the group. “There are probably five or six lads in there who have said: ‘I’ll give it a go, I’m ready’. They are willing to put themselves out on a limb whether they feel 100 per cent or haven’t trained as much as they have wanted, but that’s what I’m getting back. “We’ve obviously got to be careful managing them, but there’s no one going: ‘It’s not for me this’.” Having taken 10 points from Jackson’s first four games in charge, Burnley have lost their last two and have slipped back into the relegation zone. A 1-0 defeat by Spurs on Sunday left a bad taste after the only goal of the game came from a contentious penalty awarded for handball against Ashley Barnes. Jackson admitted the decision still rankled, saying: “Yes but it’s done now. I said what I needed to say after the game. I was annoyed with it, as you can imagine, but I didn’t want to take anything away from what I thought was a really strong performance on the day from the group.” A late equaliser for Leeds against Brighton lifted them one point ahead of Burnley having played a game more, and Thursday represents the Clarets’ opportunity to try to reverse those positions ahead of the season climax on Sunday. Jackson is not shying away from the bigger picture, saying: “You can’t hide it. Everyone knows it. But we’ve spoken about what do we need to do? What’s important to us? How do we attack what we’re doing? “The lads know it’s there. But we’re at our best if we just keep that focus on what we’re doing now. I know it sounds a bit boring but you’ve got to do that, it keeps you on task, it keeps you where you need to be. Play now, not what’s going to happen or what’s happened before. “When I look into that Spurs game and I look into the other four games before that, maybe not so much the Villa game, I can see them focusing, I can see them attacking the next thing in the game. And I think that allows you to move from moment to moment and be calm.”
james tarkowski
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley boss Mike Jackson hopeful James Tarkowski will be fit for Tottenham Hotspur trip #BURNLEYFC

May 14, 2022
BURNLEY caretaker manager Mike Jackson has not given up hope that defender James Tarkowski could be fit for Sunday’s trip to Champions League-chasing Tottenham as his side continue their fight against the drop. Tarkowski, who has been stand-in captain in the absence of his defensive partner Ben Mee, was forced off early in the second half of last weekend’s 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa with a hamstring injury, but was able to do some light training on Friday. “We’re still waiting on Tarky at this moment in time,” Jackson said. “He’s not been with the group but he’s been out doing some running. It’s about making the right decision at the right time for him and the rest of the group.” Mee has also resumed light training but he is not expected back before Thursday’s trip to Aston Villa at the earliest. If Tarkowski misses out on Sunday, Burnley will start against Harry Kane and Son Heung-min with Kevin Long and Nathan Collins in central defence, a pair whose only experience playing together was the 43 minutes after Tarkowski’s exit last Saturday. Jackson has been able to drag Burnley out of the relegation zone since replacing the sacked Sean Dyche last month, but injuries could now take their toll at a key moment. “I think I said before the Southampton game (last month) it would be a struggle for me to a pick a team with what’s going on with the form of the players then, but I said to the group, ‘Trust me, there’ll be a time when you’ll be needed’,” Jackson said. “I’ve seen this part of the season before. People have stepped in and done really well. “Nathan has had some great experience from playing with Tarky. For me he’s above his years. He’s 20 but he’s been playing first-team football since he was 17, and Kevin has come in before and done well. “If that’s the partnership that’s there, fine. These lads are here to play and I’ve got faith in what they’re doing.” Jackson still carries the caretaker tag, but this week he was named Premier League manager of the month, having taken 10 points from a possible 12 before last week’s defeat to Villa. “It’s humbling,” he said. “It’s been a massive group effort. My name is on it but you’ve got so many people, for me it’s a team effort. “It shows we’ve worked really hard but we’ve got to continue. We know we have got three tough games to come – we’ve got to keep that hard work and honesty.” Burnley start the weekend outside the drop zone, level on points with 18th-placed Leeds but having played one game less than Jesse Marsch’s side, who have had players sent off in each of their last two matches – perhaps a sign of the growing pressure on their shoulders. “There are emotions around this time of the season for whatever reason – whether you’re fighting to stay in the league or fighting for the Champions League,” Jackson said. “That brings with it that emotion. It’s about trying to keep your discipline. You’ve got to play with that edge but keep that calm focus. It’s easier said than done but you’ve got to try to shut out the noise and submerge yourself in the work… “We spoke after the Villa game about what we’ve actually done so far. Let’s be honest, when we first came in (the players) were written off, but they’re still here. They’ve not gone away. “That’s credit to this group. That’s the spirit they’ve got and that will hold them in good stead for these three games. No one can predict what will happen for these three games. You’ve just got to be ready, never give in, and you fight.”
Frank Lampard
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Frank Lampard, Jesse Marsch and Mike Jackson on Premier League relegation battle #LUFC #EVERTONFC #BURNLEYFC

May 11, 2022
THE Premier League relegation battle looks set to go down to the wire heading into the final stages of the season. With Norwich and Watford already relegated, it is between Burnley, Everton and Leeds for the final place in the bottom three. Everton and Leeds are both in action tomorrow night, going up against Watford and Chelsea respectively. The Yorkshire club currently find themselves in the drop zone, but they are only behind Burnley on goal difference. Meanwhile, the Toffees are up to 16th following their 2-1 win at Leicester over the weekend. But what have the managers said about the relegation battle and their sides’ chances of beating the drop? Frank Lampard "As much as we enjoyed the weekend because it got us out of the relegation zone with games to go, it is very dangerous to relax on that,” said Lampard. “The only message is to finish the job and it is a tough job, we have to expect the worst everywhere else and everyone else to win but we can control ourselves. "Two wins back-to-back was a big thing for us to break. We have seen with Burnley how a run of wins can change the face of it very quickly so that was important to us." Jesse Marsch "Internally, we know we still have a good group to manage these situations,” said Marsch. “We knew coming into these three matches it was going to be very difficult to pick up points. “We still have too much to play for. Our focus is on controlling every moment. Credit to Burnley and Everton. They have also fought for their lives. We will do the same." Mike Jackson “You’ve got to know how to get through setbacks. I have a process and the group will have a process of how we move forward. It takes a bit of time,” said Jackson. “You’re going to get bits like that, it’s just human nature. They’re not all of a sudden going to become bulletproof. “But they’ve proved in the four games before they’ve gone through everything – they’ve come from behind, they’ve got pegged back against West Ham. “They’ve held on to a lead and now they’ve lost a game. We focus on the next one.”
Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley interim boss Mike Jackson won’t get too downhearted by first loss amidst relegation battle #BURNLEYFC

May 10, 2022
BURNLEY interim Mike Jackson insisted nothing would change in his approach after the Clarets suffered their first defeat on his watch to renew relegation fears at Turf Moor. Jackson had taken 10 points from a possible 12 to lift Burnley out of the bottom three but they were second best in a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday as frustration and nerves returned to the terraces. Ex-Claret Danny Ings fired Villa in front early on and the result seemed inevitable from the moment Emiliano Buendia doubled the lead just after the half-hour mark. Ollie Watkins’ header at the start of the second half made it 3-0 before Maxwel Cornet pulled one back in stoppage time. Now Jackson, who stepped up from the under-23s after Sean Dyche was sacked last month, must find a way to restore belief ahead of difficult away games at Tottenham and Villa again – and hope they are still in the fight when they finish the season at home to Newcastle on May 22. “Since I was 17 I’ve been involved in football and it’s part of the world you live in, you’ve got to know how to get through setbacks, otherwise you don’t stay in it, you don’t play in it, you don’t coach in it,” Jackson said. “It’s part and parcel of it, otherwise you’d win every game and it would be boring. I have a process and the group will have a process of how we move forward. It takes a bit of time. “Just like you enjoy the night when you win, sometimes when you lose you suffer a bit in the night-time and then you get yourselves ready to go. “It keeps you focused and tuned right in because you know what you need to do.” Jackson expects to learn in the next couple of days the extent of the hamstring problem that forced James Tarkowski off shortly before Watkins scored Villa’s third – a potentially key injury with captain Ben Mee still out. In a week when it emerged Burnley’s owners must immediately repay a “significant” proportion of a £65million loan taken out during their takeover in December 2020 in the event of relegation, nerves are jangling for fans, but Jackson said it was different inside the dressing room. “When you’re in it, you’re totally focused,” he said. “I don’t think it’s nerves. When you’re in football, you have a bit of a thing in your stomach and it sits there when you’re a player and it sits there when you’re a coach and it means you’re ready, you’re alert and you’re focused. “Has it been nervy at this stage of the season? You’re going to get bits like that, it’s just human nature, they’re not all of a sudden going to become bulletproof. “But they’ve proved in the four games before they’ve gone through everything – they’ve come from behind, they’ve got pegged back against West Ham, they’ve held on to a lead and now they’ve lost a game. We focus on the next one.”
Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Interim boss Mike Jackson ‘a little embarrassed’ at praise for Burnley revival #BURNLEYFC

May 3, 2022
BURNLEY interim boss Mike Jackson said he felt “a little embarrassed” at being thrust into the spotlight as the Clarets’ revival continued with a 2-1 comeback win at Watford. Saturday’s triumph at Vicarage Road lifted the north-west club five points clear of the Premier League’s bottom three and all but relegated the Hornets, who sit 12 points from safety with four games to go. An early own-goal from James Tarkowski had provided a glimmer of hope for the hosts but Burnley equalised through Jack Cork in the 83rd minute and Josh Brownhill’s strike completed the turnaround three minutes later. The result meant the Clarets have now picked up 10 points from four games since sacking Sean Dyche on April 15, leading to much praise for interim boss Jackson, but he insisted he was not in the job for the plaudits. “I’m not one for the limelight,” he said. “I try to keep low key and just do what I’m doing – stick with the group, keep them honest. I don’t look at it like that (getting plaudits).” “I know that’s what’s happening but sometimes it probably makes me feel a little embarrassed for myself.” Jackson explained that Tarkowski, who captained the side in the absence of Ben Mee, had only joined up with the squad on the morning of the match for family reasons. “We were down in the hotel (on Friday night). He got picked up, got driven straight down, put on the bus and straight in the game,” Jackson said. “That’s his character – what he’s done to get himself here and ready to play. That typifies what he is, what sort of leader he is. For the lads to see him, they knew what had happened, credit to him.” Clarets on social, plus take out a subscription... Keep up to date with our Burnley coverage on social media by joining us on Facebook and Twitter Gain unlimited access to the Lancashire Telegraph website with a premium digital subscription Or if you want the Telegraph newspaper delivered to your door, get in touch with our home delivery team or call us on 0800 953 0227
Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley interim boss Mike Jackson credits confidence for Watford victory #BURNLEYFC

May 1, 2022
INTERIM Burnley boss Mike Jackson insisted there has been “no magic wand” after his side’s impressive climb up the table continued with a 2-1 comeback victory at Watford. The Clarets’ fightback lifted the club five points clear of the bottom three and all-but relegated their opponents, who sit 12 points from safety with four games to go. The result confirmed Norwich’s relegation. An own goal from James Tarkowski had provided a glimmer of hope for the Hornets but Burnley found a late leveller, with Jack Cork heading in an 83rd-minute equaliser before Josh Brownhill’s strike completed the turnaround for the visitors. Burnley have now won three games in a row and Jackson insisted he has not done anything special to secure those victories. “I would say that (it’s just about confidence),” Jackson said. “I’d say you get those results, you get that more belief, a bit more feeling about yourself and the group starts to come together, they know what’s at stake and obviously everything builds with that. “There’s been no magic wand whatsoever, it’s just reminding the players who they are and making sure they stick together as a group, stay honest, look after each other and that’s the way we try to do it.” Since parting company with Sean Dyche Burnley’s turnaround has been remarkable, with the Clarets taking 10 points from four games. Jackson credits his side’s togetherness for their fight from 1-0 down to winning 2-1. He added: “I think you can see obviously you get the first goal and the second goal as well and it’s just mayhem, but that’s this group, that’s what they do – people give them criticism for other things but what you can never criticise them for is that team spirit and that togetherness which means a lot.”
Chris Wood Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley interim boss Mike Jackson looks ahead to Watford clash in relegation battle do or die #BURNLEYFC #WATFORDFC

April 29, 2022
BURNLEY interim boss Mike Jackson insists he hasn’t thought about his own managerial ambitions despite an impressive start to life in the hotseat at Turf Moor. The Clarets have picked up seven points from their last three matches since Jackson stepped up from the Under-23 side. But the former Tranmere boss insists he is only focused on the short term and helping Burnley maintain their top-flight status. “I’ve not had a chance to think about that," he said. "It’s not in the front of my mind at this moment in time. “The total focus has been can we get this team ready and making sure we keep trying to improve them. “I've had regular contact (with Alan Pace). We spoke about a couple of things, he’s given us his backing and we’re just going to go one game at a time. "He’s happy with where we are and we think the best for everybody is the way we’ve been doing it so everyone’s on the same page.” Burnley face another huge game on Saturday when they take on 19th-placed Watford, and victory at Vicarage Road would not just be a big leap towards safety but would also effectively relegate both Watford and Norwich. “I wouldn’t be disrespectful to the two teams like that,” he added. “I didn’t even know that. For me it’s just us focusing on us. “They’re fighting for their lives, two really good managers. A Roy Hodgson team’s not going to think about that. “There are loads of permutations. I can’t read into the future. We stay in the now. That’s the best way to play football.” Burnley can pile more pressure on Everton below them and Leeds ahead of them, with both teams playing after the Clarets and facing what appear significantly more difficult fixtures. A third of Burnley’s Premier League victories this campaign have come under Jackson, and he is determined to keep things simple. The former defender said: “It has been good but it’s just been about focusing on this next game, learning what we’ve done from the last game, what went well in the previous games. “The biggest thing I keep saying to them is, ‘Can we improve?’ There are certain things that we know we need to get right. “This group, with what has happened, have really rallied round each other and we’ve got to keep that - the players, the fans and the staff right at the heart of it, nothing comes inside that.” Jackson could have Maxwel Cornet and Jay Rodriguez available, but Erik Pieters, Ben Mee, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Ashley Westwood remain sidelined.
James Tarkowsi Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Mike Jackson pleased after Burnley ‘dig deep’ to topple Wolves #BURNLEYFC

April 25, 2022
Burnley moved out of the relegation zone with a battling 1-0 win over Wolves that delighted caretaker boss Mike Jackson, who joked he would like to celebrate the successful end to a whirlwind week by sinking eight pints. Having been thrust into the Turf Moor hotseat following the surprise sacking of long-serving Sean Dyche on April 16, the under-23 coach has flourished and on Sunday secured a second victory from three unbeaten games in charge. The impressive 1-1 draw at West Ham was followed by Thursday’s 2-0 home triumph over Southampton, before Matej Vydra sealed three more crucial points against Wolves. The result propelled the Clarets out of the relegation zone – temporarily at least – and the run has injected new life into their survival bid. “It’s a great result, really strong performance again,” Jackson said. “It’s the third game in a week so we’ve had to dig deep in areas of that game. “We didn’t start the game great but we grew into it as the game went on and later in the first half we started to come into it more. “We just tweaked a couple of things at half-time that we needed to get better and then we started second half well. “We get the goal and then obviously it’s just about managing the game out a little bit, because there were a couple of lads carrying little knocks and niggles. “I think it’ll be a big lift to the group (getting out of the relegation zone) if, fingers crossed, it can stay that way. “But just from getting these results, I think psychologically for the group, what they’ve achieved this week will help them, will bring them together even more.” Jackson does not believe complacency will be an issue for his group, nor will the Burnley coach be getting ahead of himself despite acknowledging the need to celebrate the Wolves win. “My plan? I’d like to say eight pints but, no, I’ll be going home, sitting on the couch, see my family, and then go to see my dad (on Monday),” the Burnley caretaker said. “When you win a game, enjoy that day. Next day, you’ll start thinking about everything else that goes with it but for now just the lads deserve to enjoy that day. “They’ve had a really tough week and come out of it with some really good things.” Jackson has done a sterling job since stepping in following Dyche’s exit but is unsure whether he will still be in charge for next weekend’s trip to relegation rivals Watford. “It’s literally day to day,” he added. “We’ve come off the back of this week here and now it’s just about just enjoying that little bit of it, because there’s still a hell of a lot more football to come. “It’s about us trying to improve, trying to get better in everything that we’re doing.”
Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley caretaker Mike Jackson gives insight to Burnley’s manager search while fighting relegation battle #BURNLEYFC

April 23, 2022
BURNLEY caretaker manager Mike Jackson will carry on with the job in hand after being told to prepare the team for the next step in their Premier League survival battle against Wolves on Sunday. Jackson and his interim coaching staff guided the Clarets to a crucial 2-0 win over Southampton in front of a raucous crowd at Turf Moor on Thursday night. Burnley, who parted company with long-serving boss Sean Dyche in the wake of defeat at relegation rivals Norwich, now sit just a point from safety, albeit having played a game more than Everton. Jackson, the club’s under-23s coach, revealed chairman Alan Pace had given the current backroom set-up, which also includes injured captain Ben Mee, academy director Paul Jenkins and goalkeeping coach Connor King, a vote of confidence to take the squad forward again. “We have just spoken (with the chairman) and he just asked us to carry on for the game on Sunday,” Jackson said. “There is a process going on in the background, so we just crack on and prepare for Sunday’s game.” Jackson told a press conference: “Our focus is taken up with preparing the team. “That has been the pure focus, and he (Pace) has just let us get on with it and we have just been focusing on the football side of it. “It has been literally – move to the next game, take the team and then move on from there. “There is a lot going on and a lot to think about, but there are good people around to help you – you can’t do this on your own.” Since the surprise sacking of Dyche, the Clarets have taken four points from two games, building on a battling 1-1 draw at West Ham by seeing off the Saints with first-half goals by defenders Connor Roberts and Nathan Collins. “We just made little tweaks, including just remembering who they are,” Jackson said. “They came together and it galvanized them.” Sunday’s game will present an opportunity for Burnley to drag themselves out of the bottom three, albeit only potentially for a few hours ahead of the Merseyside derby at Anfield. Jackson, though, knows another fully-focused display will be needed against a Wolves side seeking a response from their last match on April 8 which ended in a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle. “I think every team in the Premier League is dangerous – if you sleep for a moment then you get cut open,” Jackson said. “There are good sides with top-class managers and good players, so we have got to be on it.” Jackson added: “Wolves is a club with a clear identity of how they play, but they are very difficult to play against. “We have got to try and find those weaknesses.”
Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Mike Jackson does not know if he will be in charge for Burnley’s next match #BURNLEYFC

April 22, 2022
BURNLEY caretaker manager Mike Jackson admitted he did not know if he would take charge of Sunday’s Premier League match against Wolves after guiding the Clarets to a crucial 2-0 win over Southampton on Thursday night. First-half goals from defenders Connor Roberts and Nathan Collins lifted Burnley to within a point of 17th-placed Everton, albeit having played a game more, and Sunday’s match gives the Clarets a chance to climb out of the bottom three, even if only for a couple of hours before the Toffees face Liverpool. Jackson and an interim coaching staff that includes injured captain Ben Mee have taken four points from two games since the surprise sacking of Sean Dyche last Friday, but continue to work day-to-day as chairman Alan Pace seeks a permanent successor. “I haven’t spoken to the chairman, I’ve been speaking to you guys for the last half an hour and I’ve not had chance to speak to anyone,” Jackson said. “The chairman the other day asked us to prepare for the game today and if the chairman asks us again to prepare for Sunday, that’s where we’re at. “There’s no meeting planned. We’re in tomorrow for a recovery day and a work day for the lads who didn’t play. If the chairman asks us again for the game on Sunday we’ll do that. We’ve thought ahead on that. We’re just happy to be helping the club and helping the players perform.” Right-back Roberts, who took his first Burnley goal in style as he cut onto his left and curled a shot beyond Fraser Forster with 12 minutes gone, said after the match the players were feeling more freedom under Jackson, but the club’s under-23s coach insisted he had not changed much. “I hear it all the time if a manager leaves, people say you’ve done this and done that. I don’t think it’s that,” he said. “I think the players, and the group, have just remembered who they are, what they’re good at and what they’re capable of. I think it’s just as simple as that. “We’re here to guide them, the staff have all mucked in, everyone has played their part. For me, I don’t buy into this magic wand thing. I’m not reinventing the wheel here. We have a group of guys who have come together and who are fighting.” There was nothing radically different about Burnley’s approach on Thursday, but roared on by Turf Moor they looked fired up, and Roberts’ early goal was the first of several chances, with Southampton goalkeeper Forster keeping the score down before Collins headed in a second before half-time. “I think it comes from confidence,” Jackson said of Burnley’s verve. “There’s confidence from the West Ham game (a 1-1 draw on Sunday). All of a sudden you start feeling better about yourself. There hasn’t been massive changes. They’ve just remembered who they are.” While Burnley celebrated, Southampton missed a chance to return to the top half of the table, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side having won only one of their last six in the league. “Congratulations to Burnley. I think in the end it was a deserved win,” the Austrian said. “We had the first big chance in the game, a free header to Oriol (Romeu) after a set-piece but maybe then the game goes in a different direction. “When we conceded the first goal from the first chance and then don’t recover until half-time you don’t deserve anything. “We were lacking in everything in the first 45 minutes, simply not good enough.”
Sean Dyche Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Mike Jackson believes Sean Dyche sacking can ‘jolt’ Burnley into securing survival #BURNLEYFC

April 21, 2022
BURNLEY caretaker boss Mike Jackson believes the shock sacking of Sean Dyche last week has made clear to the players the precarious position they find themselves in. The Clarets are no strangers to a relegation battle, but this season’s feels different, with a side who have won only four league games all term showing few signs they are about to dig themselves out of this hole. Dyche paid the price on Good Friday as the club abruptly ended his nine-and-a-half-year reign only months after giving him a new four-year contract. “I think that can be a trigger for a team sometimes,” Jackson said. “It gives them a jolt. They think, ‘This is where we’re at, what do we do as a group now? Do we sit and wallow or do we come together and take on that challenge?’. From what I’ve seen so far that’s what they’ve done.” Jackson, 48, has stepped up from his role as under-23s boss to lead an interim coaching staff that also includes injured club captain Ben Mee, securing a 1-1 draw in Sunday’s match at West Ham. It could have been more – Maxwel Cornet missed a penalty after Wout Weghorst headed Burnley in front – but equally Jackson was grateful to Nick Pope for saving them from defeat after Tomas Soucek levelled. Jackson said he did not know how much longer he would remain in charge – chairman Alan Pace has asked him to take charge at home to Southampton on Thursday night but nothing more has been said, with Wolves due at Turf Moor on Sunday. Ralf Rangnick has arguably seen the interim tag undermine his authority at Manchester United but, given Burnley’s position, Jackson said his own situation was completely different. “I can only go back to what I’ve seen from the group in the last few days,” he said. “If you’d been in that dressing room before the game and seen that group come together, you’d see why I’m answering as I am. “I’ve seen what it meant to them and what they were like after, they were really disappointed they didn’t come away with more. I told them not to be too disappointed because there were some really good signs.” The draw left Burnley three points from safety going into the midweek fixtures, and perhaps needing to win as many games in the final seven fixtures of the season as they have managed all campaign. But Jackson insisted there was every reason to believe they are capable of a great escape. “Definitely I believe it,” he said. “I’m going to say that, but there’s enough within this group. This group have been there before. You see the response the other day and how they all came together. “There’s a lot of football to be played, a lot of points to play for. It’s not going to be defined by tomorrow night. It’s going to be defined in the last game of the season, that’s when we’ll be told if we’re good enough. I think this group is good enough.” Sunday’s draw was overshadowed by a horrible ankle injury for Ashley Westwood, whose leg appeared to buckle underneath him. Jackson said he still did not know the precise nature of the injury, with the midfielder due to see a specialist on Wednesday. “He’s going down to see a surgeon today with the doctor and we’ll know a bit more today on whether he needs further in terms of an operation,” Jackson said. “He’s such a popular member of the group and I think that’s another thing we can tap into, to try and put a smile on the lad’s face when he turns the TV on tomorrow and remember what we’re doing it for.”
Sean Dyche Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley co-caretaker manager Mike Jackson admits late call to take charge of Burnley game #BURNLEYFC #WHUFC

April 17, 2022
BURNLEY'S sacking of Sean Dyche came as a “shock” to the players, according to co-caretaker manager Mike Jackson. Dyche was the Premier League’s longest-serving manager but his near decade-long reign was ended on Friday with Burnley 18th in the Premier League and four points adrift of safety, with eight games left. The Clarets have only won four matches this season but the decision to dispense with the respected 50-year-old has been widely panned – and was unexpected by those outside of the club hierarchy. Under-23s coach Jackson – alongside academy director Paul Jenkins, under-23s goalkeeping coach Connor King and club captain Ben Mee – will take charge of the team for Sunday’s game against West Ham. “I came in (on Friday) to prepare for the under-23s game and I was told to come into the chairman’s office and was told then,” Jackson told a press conference. “It all came as a bit of a shock and we have to prepare the lads for Sunday. I think it has come as a shock to the players, that is human nature, but they are an experienced group. “For us it’s about the whole club coming together – everyone here, the fans and everybody bunkering in to take away all the noise and concentrate on what we need to do. “I don’t think we are going to change how we play in one day. The strength of this group is they will pull together. We might tinker with a few bits of detail but there will be no change of style.” Sam Allardyce and Wayne Rooney are the early frontrunners to succeed Dyche, with Jackson revealing he has been given no indication of how long he will be at the helm. “No, all we have been asked to do is prepare the lads for the game on Sunday,” he added. “Our full focus is to make sure the group is ready for Sunday.” The trip to the London Stadium marks the start of three games in eight days for Burnley, who welcome Southampton and Wolves to Turf Moor next week. It is a period that could go a long way to determining their season and Jackson, who revealed Mee is unavailable for selection but will be a “voice” in the dugout, is confident they can beat the drop. “Why not? We have to look at it like that, the performances have been fine details,” he said. “We have to try and look at the positives and take the good bits and use them and move forward.” Dyche’s departure brings to an end a reign in which he twice gained promotion to the Premier League and regularly overachieved on a small budget, including a seventh-placed finish in 2018 which earned the club a Europa League play-off place. “I think (Dyche) can be unbelievably proud of what he has achieved,” Jackson added. “More than anything else he has built not only a club but a culture and identity. “That is really difficult to do in football and it takes time and takes someone who knows what they are doing and what they want. “I think the job he’s done, you only have to listen to some of the interviews from other managers and his peers and what they said about him. “The fans will think that I am sure and they have had a great 10 years. I don’t think it will be long before the gaffer and his staff are back in another job.”