Burnley Boss Sean Dyche Says the Club Aren't Settling and Want to Finish as High as Possible

Burnley manager Sean Dyche has dismissed suggestions that complacency is the reason for his side's poor form lately and insisted they are aiming to finish in the highest position possible in the Premier League this season.

The Clarets are currently seventh in the league table, just five points behind Arsenal, who are one place above them. 

But despite their position, they have won only two matches in their last eight Premier League games, which both came in the middle of December against Watford and Stoke. Since then, they have drawn three and lost the others, including their last match as they lost 1-0 away to Crystal Palace. 

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Dyche, however, is refusing the idea that Burnley are settling for what they have got and want to finish as high as possible in the league table. 

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, the 46-year-old said: "Were people expecting us to be seventh? No, so therefore we're delivering a good season even if we're on a bad run at the moment. I think that's fair. I think our fans will look at it like that.

"But that doesn't mean we settle for it, that's not the case at all, that's what I reminded the players at half-time (at Palace). We're not settling for that but there has to be a reality to it."

The Burnley boss also shut down suggestions that the lack of pressure on the squad is the reason behind their recent dip in form. He continued: "You have your own internal pressures way more than anybody could write about. The players should have that and I think ours do, there's an authenticity to it and an honesty to it.

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"There's a lot more demand on me to continue pushing them and then they push each other. That doesn't go away. I want to finish as high up the Premier League as I can, so do the players and so does the club. That doesn't change, but it has to be balanced out with where the reality of football is and our part in that. But there's no settling for less."

Dyche then went on to discuss Burnley's season as a whole so far and explained the margins behind each game they play. He continued: "Before this we'd won three out of four. There's always an urgency to perform and get points regardless of your runs. 

"If you add this run into the rest of the season you'd actually go 'it's still a fantastic season'. That has to be put in the melting pot. Early season we were the right side of the margins, the margins are still tight but now we're not the right side of them. 

"We're not a team that have been winning 4-0, so the margins are tight in any given game. You only need a decision to go against you or a couple of injuries to go against you and the margins can shift."

Burnley will play Manchester United next at home in the Premier League on Saturday, looking to end their poor recent form.