Burnley boss Sean Dyche on Frank Lampard's departure from Chelsea

The longest-serving manager in the Premier League was disappointed to see one of his opposite numbers leave his post.
Sean Dyche and Frank LampardSean Dyche and Frank Lampard
Sean Dyche and Frank Lampard

Sean Dyche has spent over eight years at the helm at Burnley, and is in his sixth season in seven in the top flight, and he was surprised to hear Chelsea had decided to dispense of the services of Frank Lampard on Monday, 18 months into his reign at Stamford Bridge.

The Clarets are at Chelsea on Sunday, but after five defeats in eight games, Lampard has been sacked, and there will be another manager in the home dugout, expected to be former Borussia Dortmund and PSG boss Thomas Tuchel, depending on coronavirus protocols.

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Dyche said on Lampard: "I appreciate he was having a bit of an up and down time with results, but generally I thought it was only a very short time ago that he was being considered a manager who was doing a very fine job.

"There is a bit of extra weight put on you when they’ve spent a lot of money but it’s still difficult even when you spend money.

"To form a unit, and a team, can take time and it looked to me like there was some good work being done there during Frank’s time in charge. And as I said only a short time ago people seemed to be very positive about how Frank was going about things.

"The other side of that is that my demands at Burnley are about staying in the division, and the demands at clubs like Chelsea are winning things and being at the top of the division.

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"So that’s the nature of the job. But I felt he was doing a good job there and I’m sure a lot of other managers would think the same way.

"And it’s another young English manager gone. We want to see managers doing well across the board, but having young English managers in those jobs is good for the game here."

Roman Abramovich has sacked 12 managers in 17 and a half years at Chelsea, including two twice, but the club have continued to enjoy success, winning silverware on a regular basis, and Dyche added: "Clubs want immediate success. There are a lot of demands from outside about what is right for a football club. I think owners just decide when the right time is to change things, and if you add it all together you get a situation where managers are more likely to be sacked than they used to.

"I think the lifespan of a manager is shorter now because the demands are changing and getting higher and higher every two or three years. Football mirrors life somewhat. And our desire is to get everything delivered quicker, to get it cheaper and that’s been the same in football, where in a very short space of time someone decides you’re not right for the club and we want you out.

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"Everyone wants success immediately, and achieving it is not always the case. Most often time brings you success, but ownership and fan groups think it should be more immediate. So when you add it all together you get a situation where managers are hired and fired more quickly than they used to be.

"I can’t remember the LMA stats, but not so long ago they were saying the average life span for a manager was somewhere around 14 or 16 months. That’s pretty low by and standards, especially compared to other jobs. People don’t want to build success – they want it now. That’s a big challenge for managers."

As regards Tuchel, Dyche doesn't know if he will cross swords with him on Sunday as of yet: "I don’t know with the quarantine rules and stuff whether he’ll be able to go straight in there before we play them. Or if he’ll have to wait a while because we’re under lockdown – I’m not sure what the rules are on that sort of thing.

"So if he is appointed – and it does appear to be heading that way - I don’t know if he will be in there and actually working by Sunday. From our point of view we just have to be flexible and be ready for whatever we find that we’re up against."

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Dyche himself is out of contract in the summer of 2022, when he would be closing on 10 years in charge.

Asked whether he would want Dyche to remain beyond his contract, new chairman Alan Pace recently said: “That’s absolutely fair and it’s up to him about that, but yes. We like consistency, we like longevity and we see what an amazing manager he is and leader and leadership is really important to us.”

And Dyche is relaxed about the state of play: "I've got no problem with my current situation.

"I presume (my record) counts in the sense that most people feel we've done a good job collectively over the years and the new ownership group, I'm sure they're aware of that."