Dyche ‘amazed’ by timing of Burnley sacking but admits his players were ‘losing their edge’

Sean Dyche has revealed that he was “amazed” by the timing of his Burnley departure but he admits that his players were “losing their edge”.

The Clarets were four points adrift of safety when Dyche left the club last month.

Burnley have taken ten points from five games under their interim boss Mike Jackson. They now sit just outside of the bottom three but they are level on points with 18th-placed Leeds.

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Dyche’s sacking was met with widespread surprise across the Premier League – the 50-year-old had signed a contract extension in September and, despite this season’s struggles, was regarded as over-achieving with a limited budget – but it was the timing that caught the man himself off guard.

He was sacked on Good Friday, just over 48 hours before a trip to West Ham, and five days after a damaging 2-0 defeat at Norwich which undid the optimism built by a 3-2 win over relegation rivals Everton.

“By the time it comes around the only question mark, and I spoke openly to Alan (Pace, chairman), who is a good guy, I was amazed by the timing because it is Friday and we lost on the Sunday,” Dyche told his former Millwall team-mate Richie Sadlier on the Second Captains podcast.

“So the surprise was the timing, not so much that it could happen. The fact it came my way, I haven’t got magic dust. One day it does come your way.”

Mike Jackson is the @premierleague's Manager of the Month for April! #TogetherWeCanUTC

— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) May 12, 2022

Asked if he could understand the decision, Dyche admitted Burnley had perhaps lost their edge – something arguably demonstrated by the immediate uptick in form under Jackson, who got a point in his first