Burnley out to build on impressive recent record at Old Trafford

Burnley are out to build on an impressive recent record at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
Jay Rodriguez rifles home Burnley's second goal in their 2-0 win at Old Trafford in January 2020Jay Rodriguez rifles home Burnley's second goal in their 2-0 win at Old Trafford in January 2020
Jay Rodriguez rifles home Burnley's second goal in their 2-0 win at Old Trafford in January 2020

If the game goes ahead, as expected, it will be the Clarets' first taste of action since December 12th, after three-successive postponements due to Covid cases in their opponents' camp.

And they go to Manchester United with no fear.

They may have lost 3-1 behind closed doors at Old Trafford last season, but that was their first loss in five minutes to United, having drawn 0-0, 2-2 twice - after leading 2-0 on both occasions - and won 2-0.

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A win would take Burnley out of the bottom three, and boss Sean Dyche said: “We are where we are, we still think that we have progressed from earlier in the season.

"The margins are important and the success of getting that right, but we’re going into the game in good shape, we want to press hard and press high, and take games on.

“Ideally, we would have liked to have played games. We’ve done the in-house work the best we can, but we’ve made sure we’ve used the time wisely with our players. We’ve done what we think we can to be in good shape for the next game, whatever comes our way and whatever challenge, we’ll take it on.

“There is a balance of still doing the basics, making sure that you are defending well, and changing games by scoring goals, so we focus on that while trying to add in things that will make a difference.

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“We know that it’s tough to go to Old Trafford and take on Manchester United, and we know that we need everything on our side. We will be ready to play.

“It’s a fantastic ground with that history and feel. We’ve done reasonably well there, and we must take up the challenge there to the best of our ability.

“We have been training, we have been active and know the challenges. We’ve tried to keep the focus on the training schedule to prepare mentally to go again as we go forward.

“I tend to deal with the reality of what I do. We are where we are and there are reasons for that. We know the challenges, and we have trust in each other.

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“You are always adjusting to the challenge. It doesn’t matter what position you are in the league table, but the core is strong, and we are flexible to keep moving forward.

“We have got the right mentality and that’s the key marker, and we must focus on the fact that we have good players and must do the right things.

“I think that we are ready for the latest challenge that comes around, we keep adding to what we are doing and finding the freedom to express ourselves in games.”