Banner organisers won’t undermine Burnley’s ‘fantastic’ community work – Dyche

Sean Dyche is keen to ensure the actions of a minority do not overshadow the work done by Burnley in the community after a banner bearing the slogan ‘White Lives Matter’ was flown over the Etihad Stadium during their match against Manchester City.

The club have condemned the banner and promised to impose life bans on the perpetrators if they can be identified, and Dyche said the message stood in contrast to the club’s principles.

“As a club all we can do is attempt to put out the right message and you know the amount of work done in the community here,” Dyche said.

“What has been achieved in the community over the last five years has been nothing short of fantastic, in terms of the links in the community and the number of people affected, and we don’t wish for that to be undermined by a few making a statement that is unacceptable.”

In post-match interviews, Burnley captain Ben Mee said he was “angry and embarrassed” after seeing the banner, and Dyche said his comments reflected the thoughts of the dressing room.

He said: “A number of players felt very passionately. I want to make that clear to be fair to the players, they all have Twitter accounts but I said Ben will do the talking and I will do the talking.

“Ben spoke very well, very authentically as the man that he is. I played my part, as well as the chief executive and the chairman as well. We’re united as a club.

“I can’t speak for everyone in the town, but I’d like to think this is looked upon as the actions of a small number of individuals rather than the whole town and the whole club.”

Meanwhile, Phil Bardsley has signed a new one-year deal, but Dyche indicated Jeff Hendrick, Joe Hart and Aaron Lennon had played their final games for the club.

Dyche was unable to name a full bench for Monday’s 5-0 defeat, with three players out injured and uncertainty over those whose contracts were up, but the manager denied the frustrations he expressed in pre-match interviews indicated any broader problems behind the scenes.

“I had to chuckle because I heard somebody say the other night it’s the first time that Sean Dyche has questioned the board,” he said.

“I think most boards would be happy if they only got questioned every seven-and-a-half years.”