Burnley boss Sean Dyche not looking beyond Fulham in the FA Cup with home tie in last 16 on offer

Sean Dyche is only looking at one game at a time as fans hope for an FA Cup run.
Sean DycheSean Dyche
Sean Dyche

The fourth and fifth round draws were made on the same night, due to the coronavirus pandemic, to supposedly "aid fixture scheduling".

And it threw up the tantalising prospect for either Fulham or Burnley, with the winners of Sunday's tie at Craven Cottage handed a home draw against Bournemouth or Crawley Town in the last 16.

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The fifth round is the furthest Dyche has gone with Burnley, having reached the semi-final as a player with both Chesterfield in 1997 and Watford in 2003 - after beating Burnley 2-0 in the quarter-final.

Staying in the Premier League, with all the riches it brings, is paramount to clubs like Burnley, but they have not been to the semi-final since 1974, and their last final was in 1962.

Dyche would love a cup run, but openly accepts it is down on his lost of priorities: "I have had my own moments in the FA Cup, and I think it is a fantastic competition.

"But a club like Burnley, it is very important to continue the journey in the Premier League, and it is always going to be a priority at a club like Burnley, not just because of the kudos, but the financial side.

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"That will be the focus, but when the whistle blows we want to win games."

Asked about the draw opening up potentially, he added: "I am not too worried about that.

"Football is doing what it can to deliver, and there are bound to be some things which are a bit awkward or that you question, like now with the schedule.

"Everyone is trying to play their part, and they've done that for the FA Cup, so that is the way it goes.

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"The cup has many upsets and people suggest 'are you planning a cup run this year?' as if it is easy, and it is not.

"It is not easy designing a cup run and laying it out there.

"Our mentality will be the next game against Fulham, who are a good side with a pretty deep squad, so even if they make changes, we still think they will be a handy outfit.

"If we make changes we believe we can take on the game and win."

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And changes are more than a possibility with midweek games at home to Aston Villa and Manchester City sandwiching a trip to Chelsea next Sunday: "It is a busy period and we all understand the reasons for these busy times and the way the games are crunched together.

"Some of the formatting I suggest could be different but we understand the TV companies want the games out there and the fans as well.

"We are going to take on the challenge. We have to get players recovered, getting them well and ready to go again.

"We have a lot of players coming back to fitness, maybe not Premier League fit but they are coming back to being injury free so that is important.

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"We will have to look at what team we put out to make sure we get results whilst not losing players again because it is very important we do keep the players fit and not just for one game but games beyond this busy spell.

"We will get a roll call.

"I am not expecting to have Charlie (Taylor).

"By Saturday we will be looking at what we have available, which should be good.

"There are very good players who are not playing at the moment so I certainly believe in them.

"We will take a view as a staff on what side we can put together that we believe can win down at Fulham."