Burnley boss Dyche pleased with resilient display

A Sam Vokes penalty just after the break, after a shove on Ashley Barnes, and a second from Junior Stanislas proved enough to make it 16 league games unbeaten, setting up a chance to go top on Saturday, when Leicester City come to town.

Dyche said: “I thought we were good value again overall, but I must say Paul (Dickov’s) team came here with nothing lose, everything to gain, in a sense, statistically, that it would be a tough game.

“I thought they gave us a very hard game, and we had to be resilient, not really around our goalmouth - I don’t think they had too many chances - but they shifted the ball well at times, our shape was good, our energy was good and I said to them at half-time, we’ve made a habit of being relentless in the way we play, and over the 90-odd minutes, we’ll have enough.

“And second half I feel it was clear to see we did have enough.”

Dickov was unhappy with the penalty award, but Dyche felt Barnes should have had a spot kick in the first half after being held by Abdoulaye Meite: “In the first half we had a absolute stone-waller with Ashley Barnes, so we haven’t got one but got the other.

“We’ve had seven not given and Leicester have had 15 given, so I’m not going to cry it in.

“It was a push.”

Dickov felt there was some pressure put on the referee in the tunnel at half-time, but Dyche countered: “Our captain, as he has a right to do, asked the referee why he felt it wasn’t a penalty, I was right behind him, there was no bad language, he just said he was surprised he hadn’t given it, it was a stone-wall penalty.

“We’ve had our own share of frustration this year with things not given, so I understand Paul’s frustration, but there was nothing untoward.”

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