Sean Dyche Burnley verdict given as Gary Lineker, Gary Neville and Alastair Campbell have their say on sacking

The news came as a complete shock on Good Friday as the Premier League’s longest-serving manager saw his 10-year tenure at Turf Moor ended prior to Easter Sunday’s trip to the London Stadium.

The 50-year-old had been scheduled to address the media at the club’s Gawthorpe training base ahead of their fixture against West Ham United before news of his dismissal was broken.

Former England striker and Match of the Day presenter, Gary Lineker, took to Twitter and said: “Burnley have sacked Sean Dyche with 8 games left of the season. What a brilliant job he did for so many years. Feels like a really sh***y thing to do.”

Journalist and broadcaster Tony Livesey, a lifelong Burnley fan who presents ‘Drive’ for BBC Radio 5 Live, added: “The new owners of Burnley football club have just removed part of its soul. ‍They. Just. Don’t. Get. It.”

Ex-Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher also offered his thoughts on social media, posting: “What a joke! If you had given him a decent budget you would never have had a worry about getting relegated.”

Carragher’s partner in crime, former England and Manchester United right back Gary Neville, wrote: “Well done to Sean Dyche for doing one of the great managerial jobs in PL history. He had a bantamweight budget and yet punched hard against the heavyweights for years.”

Neville’s ex-team-mate at Old Trafford, Rio Ferdinand, also doffed his cap to Dyche: “Big respect to Sean Dyche for the job he’s done at Burnley.”

Chris Kamara kept things short and simple, responding to the club’s announcement on Twitter with: “Here is something I thought I would never see.” And Jan Aage Fjørtoft posted: “What a great job Sean Dyche has done at the club over the years!”

Ex-Blackburn Rovers strike partnership Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, who were handed the moniker ‘SAS’ when scoring 49 goals between them to fire the club to Premier League glory in the 1994-95 season, also had their say.

Controversial pundit Sutton bluntly said: “Burnley are idiotic sacking Sean Dyche.” Shearer simply added: “Wow!”

As the breaking news continued to filter through, former Football Focus presenter Dan Walker said: “Don’t really understand the Sean Dyche decision. 8 games to go!!! What a phenomenal job he has done at Burnley.”

Pundit, and former pro, Danny Higginbotham, shared his thoughts, saying: “Burnley sacking Sean Dyche is one of the most bizarre and ridiculous decisions I’ve seen in football in a long time. He is Mr Burnley and was the best man to keep them up this season or if the worst came to the worst the best man to get them promoted next season.”

Popular Radio One DJ Jordan North, who featured on ‘I’m A Celeb’, posted an image of himself stood in front of the Sean Dyche mural in town, along with the wording: "The Gaffer. Thank you Sean, we owe you everything.”

Arsenal quadruple winner and ex-England international Lianne Sanderson posted: “Sean Dyche been sacked. What a joke. They would of been relegated as soon as they got promoted, If it wasn’t for him. They have been over achieving for years. Hope he finds a job that allows him to show his ability. He worked miracles there.”

Former Burnley centre back Steven Caldwell was just as flabbergasted: “Utterly baffling. The decision is bad, the timing is horrendous. It’s hard to actually wrap your head around it.”

Simon Jordan, addressing the news on talkSPORT with Jim White, said: "Dyche was the glue, the adhesive, the thing that held Burnley together in the Premier League with players that are a little rag, tag and bob tail. He kept them there and to take him out now makes no sense."

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, speaking on the same show, added: "This is not really fair on Sean Dyche for what he's done and what he's achieved. He's been linked with lots of jobs over the years and it's never been forthcoming.

"If he gets back to the Premier League he'll have to do it on his own merit, he'll have to get a team up from the Championship and you know he can stay there for many years. I still think he could be successful."

Writer, communicator, consultant, strategist, mental health campaigner and big Burnley supporter Alastair Campbell, concluded: “There are no words to describe how much Sean Dyche, Ian Woan and the coaches have done for @BurnleyOfficial in last decade.

"I remember all the ‘Sean Who?’ tweets at the time he was appointed since when we have had some of the best ever years in my 60+ years as a Burnley fan, 2 promotions and a year of European competition that looked unimaginable when he first took over. Aberdeen, Istanbul and Athens.

"Did we ever really imagine that was possible? And though we lost to Norwich on Sunday, and didn’t play well, I remained convinced we could still survive. West Ham on Sunday there for the taking after their amazing night last night (when there will have been celebrations for sure!) then two home games against beatable teams with little to play for, then Watford away. Still doable.

"Have spoken to Sean + Woany to say thanks for everything. Both v philosophical about what has happened. They’ll be a very hard act to follow but both want the club to survive, thrive and succeed. As Woany said ‘special place, special club, fans have always been brilliant’.”