For a relatively small club in Lancashire, sustained progress has seen Burnley reward Sean Dyche with a new contract, keeping him at the managerial helm until the end of the 2024/25 season. A manager who has become a local legend with a pub even named after he signed a new deal, has been met with delight from fans.
Burnley Reward Sean Dyche With New Deal
How Dyche Turned Burnley Into Thorn in the Side of the Elite
It was October 2012 and Burnley had just parted company with Eddie Howe, who had decided to return to Bournemouth, leaving the Lancashire side manager-less. And, what was to follow could hardly have been expected by even the most ardent of Burnley fans.
In came Sean Dyche, who had left Watford a year prior. He took the club by the scruff of the neck and turned them into a team that has become a thorn in the side of many top teams with their pressing, physical and energetic brand of football. Not always easy on the eye but effective.
In fact, he has become quite simply one of the most successful managers in the clubs’ history, taking them into the Premier League after just 18 months in charge and, although they did not survive that season, they came close and Burnley didn’t do what many relegated teams do and fire the manager. Instead, they kept faith in him. Along with his new deal, it will rank as one of the clubs’ most prudent and successful decisions.
Bounce Back
The decision was immediately repaid by Dyche as he took Burnley back to the Premier League and, with relegation avoided in the 2016/17 season, he achieved successive seasons in the top flight of English football for the first time since 1975.
Throughout his tenure at Burnley, contract extensions have become normal and, despite being linked with moves away from the club, he and Burnley have remained a match made in heaven.
Burnley in Dreamland… and Europe at One Stage
Staying in the Premier League was achievement enough, especially on a very limited budget but, in the 2017/18 season, Dyche had fans in dreamland and in Europe for the first time in 51 years after finishing in seventh place the previous season, above the likes of Everton and Leicester City.
The Top Jobs Pass Dyche By
When a Premier League club with more financial clout than Burnley parts ways with their manager, Dyche is always a name that comes up, yet he never seems to land the biggest jobs in football. In 2017, according to The Sportsman, Burnley made a £10 million profit through selling key players, and by being shrewd in the transfer market and bringing in quality players such as Chris Wood for bargain prices. It is something that is a hard thing to do in today’s football of riches but Dyche has made it an art form.
Could Sean Dyche succeed at a bigger club with a higher budget? Having signed a new contract it may be that we never find out, but he deserves all of the respect and praise that he gets for the job he has done and continues to do with Burnley.
Sean Dyche: “My Stay Was Never in Doubt”
Dyche told the official Burnley website that his stay at the club was never in doubt:
“Extending my stay was never in doubt. The new ownership made it clear from the first Zoom meeting, they wanted me to be part of it. Talks have been ongoing since we secured our safety last season, but it was always very probable from the offset. I think we are trying to reshape the squad over the next few windows, but we are in the process of that. That takes time but we have made a good start with the signings we have made.”
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