Burnley boss has reasons to be cheerful

POSITIVE SIGNS: Clarets boss Sean Dyche believes there are many plusses on which to build for the future at Turf Moor

The Clarets were dragged to the fringes of the relegation scrap, dropping to within three points of the bottom three with three games to play, after a run of two wins in 15 games.

But four points from the last two games have made the side mathematically safe, and, indeed, Burnley could finish as high as 10th with a win over Ipswich Town in their final game at Turf Moor tomorrow.

Despite the nerves jangling in those last few games, Dyche believes, if you look at things as a whole, without what he likes to call “the noise and interference”, there is much to take from a difficult period, as he looks to push the club forward next term.

He said: “There have been a lot of good stories this year, which have sometimes been marred, and perceptions change because of the awkward predicament we were in.

“When things go against you, they are excuses, and when it’s going for you, they are realities.

“Referees decisions have actually affected our season, but aside from that, we have young players developing nicely - Danny Lafferty and Kevin Long have played in some big games no and have shown massive growth, while Danny Ings came of age at Wolves.

“We’ve had the likes of Michael Duff, Ben Mee, Charlie Austin and Dean Marney injured for long spells, and it all goes into the melting pot.

“We’ve used the least players in the Championship, and the highest percentage of 21-24 year olds, where the champions Cardiff have the highest percentage of 27-31 years, and their experience and quality showed.

“I look through the noise and see the facts, and I feel there are a lot of good things happening. We’ve not brought any players in, and have been working with players who had been working to different methods for two years.

“And it has been the most difficult Championship season in history - teams could still go down with 57 points!

“We have to be competitive moving ahead, and although two thirds of the division have resources that outweigh ours two to one, we still feel we can make dreams reality and follow Burnley in 2009, Blackpool, Swansea and get there.”

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