April 15, (THEWILL) – Sean Dyche has been fired as manager of Burnley, who are fighting to stay in the Premier League. Dyche, who took over as manager in October 2012, leaves his team in third place from the wrong end of the table, four points behind 17th-placed Everton.
Alan Pace, Burnley club chairman said of the decision: “Results this season have been disappointing and, while this was an incredibly difficult decision, with eight crucial games of the campaign remaining, we feel a change is needed to give the squad the best possible chance of retaining its Premier League status.”
“The process of replacing Sean has begun and further announcements will be made to supporters in due course.”
Burnley’s under-23s coach Mike Jackson will be in charge of Sunday’s game against West Ham, with help from academy director Paul Jenkins, under-23s goalkeeping coach Connor King, and captain Ben Mee.
Burnley have lost five of their last six games, won the other at Everton, prompting the board to make the change after last weekend’s defeat at bottom-placed Norwich.
Burnley qualified for Europe for the first time in 51 years under Dyche, who led the team to promotion twice from the Championship and two top-half Premier League finishes. He was the Premier League’s longest-serving manager, a title he will relinquish to Jürgen Klopp, who took over Liverpool in October 2015.
“We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Sean and his staff for their achievements at the club over the last decade. During his time at Turf Moor, Sean has been a credit both on and off the pitch, respected by players, staff, supporters, and the wider football community,” Pace said.
Ian Woan, Steve Stone, and Billy Mercer, who were coaching assistants to Dyche, have also left the club, which has four league wins this season. ALK Capital purchased an 84 percent share in Burnley in December 2020, giving the club new ownership.
Burnley traded striker Chris Wood in January after Newcastle activated his £25 million release clause, and the £12 million replacement, Wout Weghorst, has not performed as expected, with the Netherlands international scoring only one goal so far.
Escaping relegation this season will be tough for whoever takes over.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
