Sean Dyche knows managers like Jose Mourinho have it tough

Sean Dyche insists he does not envy the task facing big-name bosses like Jose Mourinho as he prepares his Burnley side to take on Tottenham at Turf Moor on Monday night.

Dyche is marking his eighth anniversary of taking charge of the Clarets, making him comfortably the longest-serving Premier League boss.

And the 49-year-old believes the days when the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger could hold court for over a decade is long gone given the increasing pressures faced by managers in the modern game.

Dyche said: “The demands of the clubs he (Mourinho) has been at have been incredibly high – and that’s a different ball game.

“Pep Guardiola asked me the other week if it had been tough and I said, ‘yeah, very’. He said, ‘finance?’ and I said, ‘yeah’, and he said, ‘I don’t have a problem with that’. And I said, ‘yeah, but you’ve got to win the league, mate’.

“The juggling acts are at different levels. You look at Jose and he’s been at top clubs. It seems there’s a much more limited life span unless you are literally winning all the time over a long period.

“Alex Ferguson is the only one who has won and won and won all the time in the modern era.”

While Burnley belatedly got their season up and running by taking their first point in a goalless draw at West Brom on Monday, Mourinho’s men have proved a much more unpredictable quantity, following a 6-1 mauling of Manchester United with a dramatic capitulation against West Ham.

But irrespective of the question marks which still surround Spurs’ ability to turn their flashes of brilliance into silverware, Dyche is in no doubt that Mourinho deserves his full respect.

“He finds a way of winning,” added Dyche. “That’s always been my thoughts on management – if you can do it in a great style, then great. If you can’t, you’ve still got to win.

“If you’re a manager you’ve got to win and he invariably wins. That’s enough for me to show him respect – he wins.”

Burnley expect to give a late fitness test to Erik Pieters who is struggling with a calf injury, but Matt Lowton is back available after shrugging off an ankle knock.