'He looked like he was playing with his mates' - Jackson on McNeil

Sean Dyche often spoke of wanting Dwight McNeil to play with more of a smile on his face.
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Stan Ternent would have called it “having a chuckle in his boots”.

But after a testing season to date, McNeil was grinning from ear to ear on Wednesday night after one of his best displays of the campaign in the 2-0 win over Southampton at Turf Moor.

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Dyche called the former England Under 21 wideman “Smiler”, but was a big champion of the former Manchester United youth, saying recently: "He's got that body language we've spoken to him about, that way some people are, he questions himself a lot - a lot of it is authentic, he puts a lot of pressure on himself.

Southampton's French defender Romain Perraud (L) vies with Burnley's English midfielder Dwight McNeil (R) during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Southampton at Turf Moor in Burnley, north west England on April 21, 2022. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)Southampton's French defender Romain Perraud (L) vies with Burnley's English midfielder Dwight McNeil (R) during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Southampton at Turf Moor in Burnley, north west England on April 21, 2022. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Southampton's French defender Romain Perraud (L) vies with Burnley's English midfielder Dwight McNeil (R) during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Southampton at Turf Moor in Burnley, north west England on April 21, 2022. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

"We've spoken to him about that, you've got to release that, because you don't want to put too much on yourself.

"You have to put the demand on yourself, but there's a difference and sometimes you can overthink things a bit.

"We want him to play with freedom, enjoy his football."

While McNeil has never hidden from the ball, that freedom had been missing from his game, but he looked more like his old self against the Saints, and, asked about his happier demeanour, interim boss Mike Jackson said: “He doesn’t speak to anybody! He is really quiet lad who gets on with it, and he looked like he was playing with his mates.

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"When he does play like that, you can hear all the seats going up in the stands and it is great to see.

"He is such a young player and there is still probably a lot more to come from him.

“It is the first time he has gone through a so-called sticky patch and he has played so many games as well.”

Asked what he had said to McNeil, Jackson admitted: “I wish I could say I had done something weird and wonderful, but I have spoken to the lad and told him what we want from him in terms of where we want him on the pitch, and asked the lads as much as they can to give him the ball.

"Simple as that.

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“He’s got a defensive responsibility to the team but all we have done is spoken to him about where his position is and how we can get him on the ball a bit more.

"Can he be in those areas where we can get the ball to him. Defensively he has a job to do.”

McNeil has started both games under Jackson on the right, and Jackson explained the thinking: “When he comes inside, the pitch opens up for him and he can come and play off people.

"At this moment it suits Max (Cornet) to be left and Dwight to be right and it has worked okay.”