Kieran Trippier: 'Sean Dyche is the perfect man for Burnley'

The Clarets chief collected the gong for the first time in two years when victories over West Ham United, West Bromwich Albion and Watford had been enough to earn recognition.

Dyche won the award four times in the Championship - September 2013, October 2013, April 2014, February 2016 - and Trippier was still at Turf Moor to see three of them.

"I've always said it about him, even when he first came to Burnley, he's a perfect fit for the club," said the Atletico Madrid right back.

"For me he's the perfect man for Burnley and if he's getting the Premier League manager of the month then I couldn't be happier for him because he's doing an unbelievable job.

"I know for a fact he loves it at Burnley, he's settled there, everyone knows how well he's done there.

"He's built everything from scratch there from the training ground, the players, the stability of the club. There is no better manager for Burnley than him and that's a fact."

The England international remains in regular contact with the Burnley boss, despite having left the club in the summer of 2015 and living thousands of miles away.

Dyche handed the defender 120 of his 185 appearances for the club with the rest of those bestowed by Eddie Howe, who enticed Trippier to Burnley from Manchester City.

The 29-year-old full back, who was voted Player of the Year in 2011/12, was later inducted into the PFA Team of the Year twice, with the latter running parallel to the club's promotion to the Premier League in 2014.

"Sometimes English managers don't get the recognition or respect they deserve," said Trippier. "To keep them in the Premier League on the budget that they've had over the years, against all the other top clubs, is remarkable.

"It was remarkable when he got us promoted while I was there having spent £300,000. If you look at the financial power of the Premier League these days - most other clubs are in a completely different bracket.

"Teams can spend millions and millions, but Burnley don't really go down that route. I don't blame them either because they recruit well and Sean Dyche is clever."

Dyche is closing in on seven-and-a-half years with the Clarets. Only Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth and AFC Bournemouth boss Howe have held their roles for a longer period.

In that time the former Watford centre back has won promotion to the top flight twice - the second of those as champions after a 23-game unbeaten run - he's spearheaded the construction of a multi-million pound state-of-the-art training facility and secured European football for the Clarets for the first time in half-a-century.

Therefore, it came as a surprise to Trippier when a pocket of fans had turned on the man that had made all this happen.

A string of poor results and performances, which included home defeats to Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, had struck a sour chord with some.

Trippier said: "I remember they were going through that stage just before Christmas and people were calling for his head at one point when they weren't getting results and heading towards the relegation zone.

"Fans weren't happy with the results, but that's going to happen in the Premier League. You'll go through spells when things aren't going your way. Look where they are now!

"He deserves credit. It's unbelievable what he's done and for a manager to stay at the same club for such an amount of time shows how much respect people have for what he's done.

"Just look what he's achieved over the years. For a club like Burnley to be successful in the Premier League for four years shows he's doing something right.

"I think Burnley have done it perfectly and I hope they are there for many years, ready for when I come back!"