On Sunday, Burnley manager Sean Dyche will celebrate his four-year anniversary with the Turf Moor outfit. He faces a tough trip to Old Trafford this weekend, however that match will hold no fear and maybe now is the best time to be facing an out of sorts Manchester United.
In his first full season as Burnley manager, Sean Dyche led his troops to the Premier League, winning promotion from the Championship and finishing second to Leicester City. They finished eight points ahead of nearest challengers Derby County and as they geared up for life in the Premier League, the gulf in class was to prove just too much.
They opened their season with a 3-1 loss to Chelsea and they would have to wait until the 8th of November to pick up their first win, which came against Hull City. Ashley Barnes got the winner that day as they ran out 1-0 winners and the following week they had a glimmer of hope as they beat Stoke City 2-0. However, it was not to be. They never climbed higher than seventeenth place that season and were relegated on the 19th of May despite winning 1-0. A win for Newcastle on the same day would seal their fate and Championship football the following season.
Back in the Championship they re-grouped and came back in style. They went on an unbeaten run from the 28th of December until the end of the season and came up as Champions. Sam Vokes with sixteen goals and Andre Gray, who returns from a ban this weekend, with twenty-three goals were both terrific in that run.
Now though they face an entirely different proposition. They have already bettered that seventeenth place previously mentioned and are currently fourteenth in the league. They have three Premier League wins against Liverpool, Watford and last weekend against an Everton side who were in great form. Sam Vokes has continued to score and has a decent return of three for the season.
They have suffered a couple of heavy defeats, 3-0 away to Chelsea and 3-0 away to Leicester, but they are a different proposition at home, having picked up a total of ten points of the eighteen available and having only lost to Swansea (on opening day) and Arsenal, who scored a last-minute winner.
Whether or not they will stay up remains to be seen, but they have given themselves the best possible chance with the start they have made.
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