'Take it on' - Sean Dyche's vow as Leeds United and Manchester United trips loom for 'progressive' Burnley

Boss Sean Dyche says Leeds United's next opponents Burnley have progressed and vowed to 'take on' whatever is thrown at them ahead of two games in four days.
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Burnley are scheduled to be United's next opponents in Sunday's Premier League clash at Elland Road which is set to see Leeds return to action after their festive clashes against Liverpool and Aston Villa were postponed.

Boxing Day's clash at Anfield and the Tuesday evening fixture at home to Aston Villa were both shelved after a recent small outbreak of Covid-19 within the Whites camp.

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The coronavirus cases together with injuries meant Leeds did not have enough recognised first-team players to meet the Premier League requirements.

UPBEAT: Burnley boss Sean Dyche. Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images.UPBEAT: Burnley boss Sean Dyche. Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images.
UPBEAT: Burnley boss Sean Dyche. Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images.

Burnley, meanwhile, have not played since Sunday, December 12 when their home clash against West Ham ended in a goalless draw.

Burnley's next three opponents all saw their requests to have their fixtures against the Clarets postponed due to coronavirus cases within their squads.

But Dyche's side are now approaching two games in four days as the Clarets will take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday evening ahead of the new year trip to Leeds on Sunday afternoon.

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The Clarets sit in the division's relegation zone and two points adrift of safety but Dyche's side now have games in hand and the Burnley boss says his team are in good fettle.

The Turf Moor outfit are five points behind fifth-bottom Leeds but played three games less.

“We are where we are, we still think that we have progressed from earlier in the season," said Dyche, as quoted by burnleyfootballclub.com.

"The margins are important and the success of getting that right, but we’re going into the game in good shape, we want to press hard and press high, and take games on.

“Ideally, we would have liked to have played games.

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"We’ve done the in-house work the best we can, but we’ve made sure we’ve used the time wisely with our players.

"We’ve done what we think we can to be in good shape for the next game, whatever comes our way and whatever challenge, we’ll take it on.

“There is a balance of still doing the basics, making sure that you are defending well, and changing games by scoring goals, so we focus on that while trying to add in things that will make a difference."

Dyche added: "We have been training, we have been active and know the challenges. We’ve tried to keep the focus on the training schedule to prepare mentally to go again as we go forward.

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“I tend to deal with the reality of what I do. We are where we are and there are reasons for that. We know the challenges, and we have trust in each other.

“You are always adjusting to the challenge. It doesn’t matter what position you are in the league table, but the core is strong, and we are flexible to keep moving forward.

“We have got the right mentality and that’s the key marker, and we must focus on the fact that we have good players and must do the right things.

“I think that we are ready for the latest challenge that comes around, we keep adding to what we are doing and finding the freedom to express ourselves in games.”

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