“I have no knowledge that we are on the cusp of anything so therefore we work with what we have got” - Burnley boss Sean Dyche

Sean DycheSean Dyche
Sean Dyche
While there is “light at the end of the tunnel” in terms of players returning to full fitness, Sean Dyche’s need for bodies remains glaringly obvious.

But he isn’t making any frustration known, certainly publically, just yet, with a fortnight to go before the transfer window closed.

Dyche was without skipper Ben Mee, James Tarkowski, Jack Cork, Ashley Barnes and Johann Berg Gudmundsson as Burnley lost their opening Premier League game 4-2 at Leicester City.

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And Robbie Brady was forced off before half-time with a rib problem.

Barnes is due to play for the Under 23s on Monday, however, while Tarkowski is expected to feature in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night at Millwall.

Dyche handed a Premier League debut to young centre back Jimmy Dunne, who scored to pull it back to 3-2, and he said: "That is literally us, that is where we are at the moment and that is every player we have got currently.

“Tarky I think will be short term. He has a chance for Wednesday.

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“I’m expecting he’s got every chance to be fit for Millwall in the cup, so we’ll wait and see.

“Ben Mee is on his way but won't make this week, Barnesy will play in the 23s games this week and hopefully come through.

“Johann we have better news on in that it is not as drastic as it could have been. Corky is a bit behind them.

“There is some light at the end of the tunnel, but it won't be this week or the next couple of weeks for them, other than Tarky.

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“Robbie we are going have to see how quickly that settles down.

“I think it is (minor). We will get it double checked but i think it is a blow on the ribs but we will have to wait and see how that settles down.

“Robbie got a knock in the ribs when he was away with the national side, and unfortunately it happened again tonight, and ribs can be a really awkward one to play with so we made that decision early to give them a chance to settle down.

“It’s a shame for him, because he’s been in and out with injury for the last while, so that was a blow for him and for us.

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“It’s not the same as last year with us, he just got a knock in the international game. I don’t think it’s too much to worry about, but it can be a problem to play with.”

Asked about the lack of movement in the transfer window, with the clock ticking, Dyche insisted: “I don't think it is desperation stage, we have been here many times.

"My first summer here we sold Charlie Austin two days before the start of the season and brought in three free transfers, so it is not really massively new news to me with how we have to operate.

"It just makes the challenge of how we have to operate slightly harder when you haven't got the bodies.

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"I have no knowledge that we are on the cusp of anything so therefore we work with what we have got.

"I have done that before and the group have a great mentality as we saw (at Leicester).

"We will take that into the next game."

He added: “I don't think the need has been heightened, it is just the truth of the moment.

“After lockdown we knew were releasing players because we didn't give them new contracts and with the loss of those players we knew back then that we needed players, so it has been there for a few months now. It is just whether we will get a chance to bring new players in.”

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Despite the defeat, Dyche felt there were some plusses: “I think there’s certainly positives, we’re stretched at the minute but I thought the mentality was excellent.

“I thought some of the ways we managed to open up the game from an attacking point of view - some of the chances we created were really good chances at this level.

“On another day, Woody could have had a hat-trick, I thought he was very goal and his goal was excellent.

“He’s a very good player and a good finisher.

“But we got done twice on the inside, inside our wide positions, which if that happens, you’re in trouble.

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“The deflected goal was the real killer for us, that changed the feel of the game. I felt we had a real grip of the game at that stage, so a strange kind of game from our point of view, but the mentality was excellent, the way we kept going at them and trying to get a result will serve us well over a season.

“I was pleased with some of the attacking play, Woody maybe should have let one go first half, same thing happened second half with his left, should have shot earlier, but it was a well-worked chance after Westy slipped him in.

“Vyds did well for him at the end as well. The main thing for me is seeing your strikers get those chances, another day they go in. A lot of the attacking play was good.”

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