Burnley boss Sean Dyche says a win over Cardiff would put them in 'a strong position' for PL safety
Thursday 11 April 2019 16:44, UK
Burnley boss Sean Dyche believes a win over relegation rivals Cardiff on Saturday will put his side “in a very strong position” to ensure their Premier League safety.
A victory over Cardiff at Turf Moor this weekend would see Burnley move 11 points clear of the Bluebirds, who occupy the final relegation place in 18th, with Fulham and Huddersfield already down.
Dyche believes three points against Neil Warnock's side would almost ensure Burnley play a third consecutive season in the Premier League.
Asked whether a win would guarantee Burnley's safety, Dyche said: "You can't guarantee it because you want to work on facts, not maybes.
"I would suggest it would put us in a very strong position, but we certainly won't take anything for granted until we've looked after ourselves."
There were concerns in December that the Clarets, who started their season in July in the Europa League, could be in relegation trouble at this stage of the season, after a run of nine league defeats in 11 games left them in the bottom three.
But Burnley have taken 24 points since Boxing Day, including two wins in their last two matches with victories over Wolves and Bournemouth, to put themselves 14th.
"The hardest part of the first part of the season was all that came with it," Dyche said. "The biggest thing for me was parking it, and I think the players deserve enormous credit for that.
"They parked it around Christmas and they were reasons why they did, and the alignment came back into the side.
"All the things that we needed to perform to win games started to show again, and obviously the return in points for those performances has been superb.
"It's got to continue, and they know that."
