Burnley's form has declined since they made it eight wins in a row by beating QPR in October, but they're holding their own among bigger spenders as manager Sean Dyche builds his personal reputation.

Overview

Well this is all a bit awkward isn't it? Wasn't this Burnley outfit meant to have fallen away by now?

With QPR's talismanic leading scorer, and former Burnley player of course, Charlie Austin now out for the rest of the season the chasing pack will have the scent of blood in their nostrils with the R's current position in second looking somewhat vulnerable.

When Rangers were (well) beaten at Turf Moor in October it was the Clarets' eighth straight win, and twelfth success in 13 games. But you could find few supporters among the Championship village elders for their title push. The received wisdom was that Burnley would themselves be overwhelmed by the bigger squads with better financial backing and given that Leicester City have since risen to the top and opened up a sizeable gap with their own remarkable run of form, and QPR are above Burnley as well, they would argue that the decline has begun as predicted. A run of five without a win immediately followed the victory over Harry Redknapp's side, and Burnley have actually only won four of their last 16 matches, which suggests they're going to slowly slope away from the promotion picture in the closing months of the season.

But QPR haven't exactly been crash hot themselves since starting the season with an 11 match unbeaten run. Four consecutive wins lately have provided much needed rocket fuel after an indifferent run of four wins from 13 games. The thing that Rangers, and Burnley, may well discover is that putting together a run as impressive as the ones these two sides managed at the start of the campaign provides a solid back up to any subsequent troughs.

Back in October the perceived weakness in the Burnley side was actually their greatest strength. Danny Ings and Sam Vokes, two unheralded stars of Bournemouth teams of years gone by, were scoring for fun in an eye-catching partnership. But manager Sean Dyche didn't even have another striker to name as a substitute against Rangers at Turf Moor and one injury to either Vokes or Ings looked potentially catastrophic. A canny-looking January move for Brighton's Ashley Barnes has remedied that.

Whatever happens over the remainder of the season, Dyche deserves credit for his work in Lancashire. Eddie Howe, who has rarely succeeded outside of Bournemouth as a player or manager but has the Midas touch at Dean Court, had brought some talented players to Turf Moor but they were drifting under his leadership just over a year ago and Dyche has added structure and ruthlessness to the side on a limited budget. They're currently drawing too many games - eight of the last fifteen - which suggests that a safety-first, conservative approach is taking over as Burnley protect their position at the top of the table. The bravery they showed in systematically dismantling QPR earlier in the season may serve them better in the run in.

It rather makes you wonder why on earth he was out of work for so long before getting the job, or indeed why he was sacked by Watford in the first place — a definite case of new foreign owners wanting their own man, rather than a slight on the excellent job he'd done at Vicarage Road during a time of boardroom upheaval and financial uncertainty. Dyche looks and sounds like the talker in an enforcement gang, rubbing his hands together slowly while explaining that if payment isn't forthcoming soon his large colleague George will get angry, and you won't like George when he's angry — but during several months of being bumped around mediocre midweek games by Sky Sports News he did always speak a lot of sense. Sam Allardyce's old quip about not getting jobs because he wasn't called Sam Allardici springs to mind — particularly as Watford have worked their way through two foreign coaches since Dyche, and arguably neither has performed as well given the resources the Pozzo family has made available.

If he can maintain Burnley's promotion push, amidst the riches of Leicester, QPR, Forest and Reading, Dyche's reputation will be enhanced to the point where the more minted clubs are circling when they sack their latest boss — but they could have had him for free a year ago. Burnley continue to reap the rewards of taking that chance.

Interview

Two Burnley fans for you this week — Jamie Smith from the No Nay Never blog, which you can visit by clicking the link, and Nick Waters who we found on The Twitter. Thank you to both for their time.

Burnley have far fewer financial resources than QPR and Leicester, but have gone toe to toe so far. What do you put the fine first half of the season down to?

JS: It's not just one thing really. We did some good business in the summer - Scott Arfield was a particularly good value signing on a free and David Jones and Tom Heaton are both excellent - but nobody could have predicted Sam Vokes and Danny Ings would be so prolific. Sean Dyche has built a very well organised side that presses the ball throughout the side. We sometimes lack a bit of creativity and Kieran Trippier is often our main outlet, from right-back, but we're extremely hard to beat.

NW: Work rate, desire and togetherness in the squad. Dyche has really instilled believe in the camp — the quality was there, but perhaps not the application under the previous regime.

Can it be maintained? How do you see the rest of the campaign panning out?

JS: Hard to say really and our form in the last two months has already dipped compared to the start of the season. We're drawing too many games. Leicester are looking unstoppable and QPR's resources are ridiculous, despite what 'Arry tells the press, but nobody would be upset if we finished third. It would be a disaster to miss out on the playoffs, so really it's just about maintaining some momentum and trying to beat Blackburn Rovers for the first time in 34 years in March. And not losing to them in the playoffs, which I'm already having nightmares about.

NW: I think so. We’ll need a dose of luck in regard to injuries/suspensions, but to achieve promotion any team will need an element of luck along the way. As I mentioned, injuries and suspensions could have a say. If we keep our top players in the side then there is no reason we can’t be battling for a top two place. The fans would certainly be disappointed if we didn’t at least finish in a play-off place now.

Obvious answer really but how do you assess the work done by Sean Dyche so far? Honestly, what did you think when he was appointed?

JS: I was underwhelmed. He did an okay job at Watford but wasn't the most exciting option on paper, looked a safe pair of hands that would keep us up and little more. Results and performances were quite poor at times last season and as a result, season ticket sales were down and that's affected crowds this season. But I can't remember a time we looked as solid at the back and hard to beat. I just wish we played with a bit more flair, it can be a bit by football by numbers at times and we smash it too often for my liking. Dyche also needs to use his subs better - we've drawn our last two home matches without really gambling on trying to win them - but that's the only major complaint I have. Very, very happy overall and pleased to have been wrong.

NW: Excellent! There were some doubters when he took over, but he’s an honest hard working manager who demands nothing but 100% from the players. I think his attitude and work ethic has certainly rubbed off on the squad — some players in particular are working harder than they were under Eddie Howe. He’s made some shrewd signings in Tom Heaton, Scott Arfield and David Jones on free transfers, and added the likes of Michael Kightly on loan and Ashley Barnes from Brighton. I can honestly say, when Eddie Howe left I was calling to give Dyche a chance. I thought he did an excellent job at Watford, a club similar in size to ours with (then) limited resources. I must admit I wasn’t expecting such an impact, but I did believe it to be a decent appointment.

What do you make of the job Eddie Howe did for you, compared to the success he constantly seems able to muster at Bournemouth? How’s he viewed by the Burnley fans?

JS: Mixed. Howe brought in some very good players - Austin, Ings, Vokes, Trippier and Shackell were all superb buys - but the timing wasn't great as we were making so many cutbacks. When you lose players like Eagles, Fox, Mears, Elliott and Rodriguez and the budget isn't there for replacements it's difficult. But most of the success we've had this year with Dyche has been built on the players Howe brought in and although he signed some duffers, his good ones will more than cancel those out. There are some fans that were upset at the timing of his departure but overall I think folk accept family has to come first. I'm certainly not surprised he's slotted back in at Bournemouth and been a huge success, he's perfect for that club. Whether he can do it somewhere else is another question.

NW: A bit ‘meh’ I must say. He never really found any consistency — we were great going forward, but always seemed likely to concede. I think it was the right decision for him to leave for all parties. In fairness to Eddie, he did sign the likes of Kieran Trippier, Charlie Austin, Jason Shackell et al. A bit marmite in my opinion. Some recognise some of the signings he made for the club, others feel he bottled the job.

Who have been the stand out performers for you this season?

JS: Danny Ings has been the star of the show and he scores all types of goals so he's arguably an improvement on Austin, who can be a bit one-dimensional without the right service. Ings scores goals from nowhere. Vokes does much of the donkey work and has looked a top class leader of the line at times, while Shackell manages the defence superbly. Everyone has done their bit.

NW: The obvious two are Danny Ings and Sam Vokes — 34 goals between them in all competitions reaffirms this! However, Tom Heaton has been excellent for us, a really good bit of business. David Jones has made a vast improvement to the midfield — Marney/Jones have struck up a good solid partnership. There are plenty of others who have performed brilliantly too.

Where are the weak links in the team? Any hint of further January business being done to correct this?

JS: Left-back usually gets targeted, but Ben Mee is solid enough. Most fans want us to bring in another central midfielder to provide some variation and cover for Jones and Marney. I'd like to see more pace in the side somehow, but it's difficult to change things when we're doing so well.

NW: We’re a bit lightweight in central midfield if we suffer any injuries/suspensions, or we want to chase a game. There are a number of rumours, and the club themselves have said they’re actively trying to bring players in. I suppose we’ll see come Saturday!

What’s the financial situation at the club like, and how does the future look if you get promoted, and if you don’t?

JS: The budget seems to be built on being able to sell a player for big bucks every summer so if we don't get promoted, Ings will be on his way. If we do go up, I wouldn't expect us to splash the cash too much but hopefully we'll use the budget better than we did last time when there were too many cheap gambles for the future. The club is being run properly and while it can be frustrating to be unable to compete with many clubs financially, I have my fingers crossed that FFP will be properly enforced and those teams that take the piss will get punished for it. It's pointless Burnley running themselves properly if nobody else bothers. As long as we have fans in the boardroom I'll be happy.

NW: The club have made it clear for a couple of years that money is tight and we can’t splash millions on signings. If we’re not promoted then I expect Danny Ings and/or Kieran Trippier will be sold to balance the books. It’s always disappointing to lose the likes of Jay Rodriguez and Charlie Austin, but we need to be realistic and if the club can keep developing talent like Danny Ings then the future should be bright. Of course things change if we’re promoted, last time I don’t think the club were massively well prepared for top flight football. It didn’t help with a manager jumping ship half way through the season and the subsequent appointment, but if we’re promoted this season I think we’ll be in a better position to compete.

Links >>> Official Website >>> Clarets Mad site and forum >>> Burnley Express local paper >>> Lancashire Telegraph local paper >>> The Longside, blog and forum

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Pictures — Action Images

Photo: Action Images

bloberts added 20:29 - Jan 31 Austin out for rest of the season?!?!? Where did you hear that, thought it was 2 months?!?!??!?!
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ShotKneesHoop added 21:05 - Jan 31 Been on Sky News for the last 10 hours. Austin's conversion rate has been amazing. I must be one goal scored for every two chances. The service to him from the wings and midfield has been desperately slow and inaccurate. Tomorrow will show what he has given us .... and what others need to do to make up for him not being there. Can't Burnley take SWP off our hands to even things up a bit?

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Northernr added 21:17 - Jan 31 Harry said in the PC this morning: "It's not been a good week, we've lost Charlie Austin for the season which is a big blow." Up to you whether you believe him or not.
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TacticalR added 22:14 - Jan 31 Thanks for your oppo report and to the Burnley fans. It is strange that Dyche has not received the respect he's deserved. Perhaps he's just one of those managers like Nigel Pearson who's just not interesting enough for the media? And although things didn't work out for Eddie Howe at Burnley, he's got to be congratulated for getting in their current strike force. It's ironic that the consensus was that Burnley would suffer from injuries, when it's us that have been hit by an injury crisis.

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