Harley: Dyche has a point to prove (From This Is Lancashire)

Harley: Dyche has a point to prove

8:19am Tuesday 30th October 2012 in Sport

JON Harley believes Burnley will be getting a manager with a point to prove as they last night prepared to confirm Sean Dyche as the club’s new boss.

Dyche was at the Clarets’ Gawthorpe training ground yesterday as Burnley put the finishing touches on the deal to appoint a manager who was surprisingly sacked by Watford in the summer.

The 41-year-old was accompanied by his backroom staff, with Ian Woan and Tony Loughlan expected to be the men who follow Dyche to Turf Moor after previously assisting him at Vicarage Road.

Harley worked with him at Watford, when Dyche was assistant manager to Malky Mackay, and the former Burnley defender has told the Lancashire Telegraph that he believes the Clarets are appointing a man with great potential as a manager.

Dyche had guided Watford to their highest position in four years last season, finishing 11th in the Championship with a limited budget, only to be sacked as the club’s new Italian owners instead brought in Gianfranco Zola as boss.

“It was harsh that he was sacked by Watford,” said Harley, who was a Burnley player between 2005 and 2008, and now plays for Portsmouth.

“He did a great job there because they didn’t have a big budget.

“He wasn’t sacked because of results I think everyone in football understands that.

“I think a lot of people felt it was harsh because he had been at the club a long time.

“But I think he can do a good job at Burnley now. He will be happy to get the job and the chance to work at Burnley, and I’m sure he will feel he has a point to prove after what happened at Watford.

“I only worked with him as a coach, because he was assistant manager to Malky Mackay then, but you could see that he was very knowledgeable about the game.

“He’s a very intelligent man and he is very honest with you.

“I enjoyed working with him and I don’t know anyone who has a bad word to say about him.”

Dyche was known as a no-nonsense central defender during his playing days with the likes of Chesterfield, Millwall and Watford but Harley says he has more strings to his bow in management, with youth development also something he advocated at Vicarage Road.

“He was the first to admit that as a player he was not the best technically but he had a bit heart,” Harley said.

“He was a leader and he’s taken that into his coaching.

“But as a coach he’s the opposite in a way. Of course he still has a big heart but he’s very intelligent and he studies the game.

“He’s a big admirer of passing football, he studies teams like Barcelona. When he was manager he brought a lot of young players through and that was important for a club like Watford.

“I know when he was assistant as well he was a big believer in bringing young players through.

“I’m sure he will probably look to do the same at Burnley, and he is someone who commands respect rather than demands it.”

Woan is expected to be appointed as Dyche’s assistant, with Loughlan likely to come in as first-team coach – the same roles they occupied at Watford last season.