Clarets legend: very special Dyche is miraculous

Paul Fletcher has called Sean Dyche "miraculous".

Fletcher, who was Burnley's record signing as an 18-year-old from Bolton Wanderers in 1971, scored 71 goals in 293 matches for the Turf Moor side before retiring in his early 30s following a knee injury. He went on to serve as CEO for Burnley, as well as becoming a stadium expert, working on Huddersfield Town's new Kirklees Stadium, Bolton's Macron Stadium, and the new Wembley.

Having recently released a football novel written in collaboration with former Labour Party spin doctor and Clarets fan, Alastair Campbell, Fletcher remains a keen fan, and has extolled the virtues of Dyche's team, who currently sit seventh in the Premier League despite a recent spate of poor form that has seen them fail to claim a win in their last eleven matches.

"Burnley have been doing well for a number of seasons," Fletcher said. "When I came back as Chief Executive, that first year it was miraculous that we got promotion to the premiership. Sometimes clubs have a little visit up there and vanish for the next 10 years; we got relegated, but we got back up a year later.

"There's something about that guy that is very, very special," Fletcher said about Dyche. "[He] has a formula not only to get us up there, but to keep us up there. And not only to keep us up there in the bottom four, but in the top half of the table. It's miraculous."

Having plied his trade at the club during Burnley's golden era in the 1970s, Fletcher spoke of the sheer enjoyment of being a professional footballer in those days, explaining that in the week leading up to game day on a Saturday, it was the best job in the world.

"Through the week it was a joy to be a professional footballer in that era," he said. "The fun came from Monday to Saturday morning, then it got serious.

"I absolutely loved playing for Burnley - the lads that I played with, we still meet up to this day, 40 years later, for a drink on a regular basis," Fletcher added. "No matter how much money the current players are earning, I wouldn't swap it for the fun that I had."