Burnley manager Sean Dyche has been left to rue a messy contract situation at Turf Moor which left him with a depleted squad for last night’s trip to Manchester City.
The 48-year-old only named seven substitutes despite being allowed a complement of nine, with just two of those in reserve having played for the club prior to the game, and two of the seven were goalkeepers (as per Lancashire Telegraph).
Five players in Dyche’s squad – Jeff Hendrick, Phil Bardsley, Aaron Lennon, Joe Hart and Adam Legzdins – are all out of contract next week and were not included in the matchday 18 at the Etihad Stadium, where his team lost 5-0.
As per Lancashire Telegraph, the Clarets boss said after the game: “It is a strange situation with contracts, the chairman advised what we should do and there has been a long delay in getting things done.
“The players therefore who haven’t been offered things have made the decision to not finish their contracts as such, even if it is just for the next 10 days. It has been tough, tough on the group, a tough on the situation for us.”
Even without the contract situation, Dyche’s hand was depleted for the trip to Manchester City, with two of his top three scorers this season (Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes) sidelined through injury.
The decimation of his squad left Josh Brownhill being thrown in for his first Burnley start and teenager Max Thompson making his senior debut against the team that has won the last two Premier League titles.
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While Hart and Legzdins are backup players and were unlikely to feature anyway, both Hendrick and Bardsley have frequently been in Burnley’s starting line-up during the season, while Lennon has featured in 16 league games this term.
Dyche added that he thinks it is improbable they will play for the club again before their contracts expire next Tuesday, with the Clarets facing Watford and Crystal Palace before the end of the month.
Dyche’s comment that the out-of-contract quintet “made the decision to not finish their contracts” was noteworthy, as if to suggest that the players have declined to turn out for the team. If indeed that is the case, their decision would be somewhat understandable as they would not want to run the risk of being injured and severing the chances of getting a move elsewhere.
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The whole scenario begs the question as to why, even with football clubs’ finances taking a hit amid the coronavirus pandemic, Burnley’s board could not at least offer new deals to first team regulars Hendrick and Bardsley.
The Clarets have had a fine season up to now but this sorry episode threatens to undermine all of their efforts so far during 2019/20.
Burnley fans, what did you make of Dyche’s latest remarks about the contract situation at Turf Moor? Share your views in the comments section below!
