Soccer-Tough, gruff and English, Dyche never got chance to progress

By Simon Evans

BURNLEY (Reuters) - Sean Dyche always bristled at the suggestion he was a "throwback" or an "old school" manager but Premier League Burnley's decision to sack him on Friday raises the question of whether he is indeed the last of a dying breed.

An Englishman who spent the bulk of his playing career as a tough centre-half in the lower divisions is not the profile most top-flight clubs look for when recruiting managers.

That is highlighted by the fact that despite his success at turning a low-budget, small town side into a relatively established Premier League team, Dyche was never poached by another club.

Even after achieving the seemingly impossible and taking Burnley to a seventh-placed finish and qualification for the Europa League in 2018, Dyche continued to be overlooked by bigger clubs who preferred instead to turn mainly to the continent for coaching talent or famous former players.

There are six of the 18 Premier League clubs with English managers, two of them former England internationals in Frank Lampard at Everton and Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa.

Only Eddie Howe at Newcastle and Dean Smith at Norwich City have similar backgrounds to Dyche in the English lower divisions with Brighton's Graham Potter having learnt his trade in Sweden where Watford's Roy Hodgson also cut his teeth at the start of a long career.

With no chance to progress his career at a club with bigger resources, Dyche has continued to battle against the odds to keep Burnley in the top flight, but this season he has struggled to find the points to keep the Clarets out of trouble.

Burnley are 18th, inside the relegation zone, and four points behind 17th placed Everton ahead of this weekend's games.

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