Burnley vs Middlesbrough - Sean Dyche brushes off extra significance for Middlesbrough game - 7M sport

Burnley vs Middlesbrough - Sean Dyche brushes off extra significance for Middlesbrough game



Posted Saturday, December 24, 2016 by PA

Sean Dyche does not believe Burnley's Boxing Day clash with Middlesbrough carries any extra significance in terms of their Premier League survival prospects.

The Clarets face back-to-back home fixtures to end 2016 and maximum points over Boro and Sunderland would not only enhance their hopes of staying up, but also dent two of their relegation rivals' chances.

Having taken just one point from eight winless games away from Turf Moor, Dyche's side are only hovering above the bottom three due to their impressive record in east Lancashire, where they have claimed 16 points from nine matches.

The clashes with Middlesbrough and Sunderland could therefore be viewed as critical to how their season will pan out, yet Dyche believes his team have proven they can accrue points from any contest.

"I think you've seen already this season that nobody fancied us against Liverpool or Everton - we picked up maximum points from those two games," he said.

"There's no guarantees in this division. You've got to get enough points on the board wherever they come from.

"It's not about us or Middlesbrough, it's about us over a season and giving performances to collect enough points to do the job."

Burnley welcome back winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson, but will be without Matthew Lowton.

Iceland international Gudmundsson has been out since November with a hamstring injury he sustained against Manchester City but featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston in midweek.

Lowton will serve a one-match suspension for picking up five cautions since the start of the season.

Middlesbrough winger Viktor Fischer will miss out after being ruled out for up to three weeks with a knee injury.

The former Ajax midfielder hobbled off the pitch during the first half of Boro's 3-0 Premier League victory over Swansea last Saturday and will miss the entire festive programme as he recovers.

Head coach Aitor Karanka hopes to have midfielder Cristhian Stuani (foot) fit, while full-back George Friend will push for a return to the starting line-up after appearing as a substitute against the Swans following a knee problem.

Karanka will take Premier League victories however they come as he concentrates on his sole aim of keeping the club in the top flight.

Boro head for Burnley, with whom they emerged from the Sky Bet Championship last season, sitting in 14th place in the table as a result of the win over Swansea.

However, Karanka admitted in the immediate aftermath of the game that while the victory was one of the more comprehensive of the season so far, the performance was one of the worst.

Asked if results are sometimes more important than performances for promoted clubs, Karanka said: "Sometimes or most of the time?

"I think most of the time. It's true that the better you play, the more chance you have to win the game.

"I said after that game, that it had been our worst performance so far that day, but when I analysed it, it was the third game in a week and the first game at home after two defeats and the pressure of [playing against] direct opponents, so the players had a lot of pressure on their legs, on their heads.

"The main thing that day was the result, but we need to know that we have to play better if we want to win games.

"I have said always in the Premier League, especially when you don't have the experience, the main thing is to add that experience.

"For example against Swansea, we didn't play our best, but we won the game. That game, for sure, in September or October, we would have lost because at that time, we lost games against Crystal Palace and Watford when we played better than we played against Swansea."



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