Sean Dyche says there will be no sentiment when he returns to Burnley with Everton on Saturday.
Dyche spent 10 years at Turf Moor, leading the club to promotion twice as well as a place in Europe, before being sacked in April 2022.
Read our other sports news stories here
Best UK Football Betting Sites For 2023
West Indies v England 2nd ODI: Preview, team news and how to watch
Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon to play county cricket for Lancashire in 2024
The 52-year-old is currently attempting to drag Everton away from the lower reaches of the Premier League following their 10-point deduction for financial breaches and says he is more focused on that than getting misty eyed over his time with the Clarets.
“I don’t really go in for all that stuff,” he said. “There’s a massive respect going back there, obviously, because of my time there and I always had a big respect and a big connection to the people and the fans because of what was achieved there.
“But to be honest, when the whistle blows, I want to win. That’s work time. That’s why I’m in the game, to win. But before and after, I’m hopefully going to bump into some old faces.”
Team news update ahead of #BUREVE…@WEARFIGS 🔵 PIC.TWITTER.COM/3KUZUYOFSG
— Everton (@Everton) DECEMBER 14, 2023
Current Burnley boss Vincent Kompany also enjoyed promotion last season but he is aware of the impact his predecessor had on the club.
“Every club, in recent history, has a reference point,” said the Belgian. “He [Dyche] has been that in recent history and no-one did better than him. As a manager, you are always looking to the good habits you can retain and build on.”
Burnley go into the weekend second from bottom of the Premier League, five points and two places below the Toffees, but Kompany says his team is up for the battle having gained a credible 1-1 draw at Brighton last Saturday.
“The team is alive, fighting and doing everything it can,” he added. “If we are going in a wrong trend then we need to boost it but we need to give ourselves a chance to reward ourselves with the performances.”
Kompany also provided an update on striker Lyle Foster who stepped away from the game to address his mental health in early November.
“Lyle is making, I think you describe it, as progress,” he said. “We still follow him closely, he is still receiving treatment, but we’ve been fortunate we’ve been able to work on the fitness side with him, so his progress is what you would want it to be in terms of his mental health but physically, he is in a good place as well.
“I’m not able to put a timescale on [his return] but physically, he is in a good place.”
