Dyche keen to build on solid foundation at Burnley
(Reuters) - Burnley manager Sean Dyche has not set his team a points target for their Premier League safety and says that if they build on their solid foundations and focus on each game as it comes then they will continue to defy expectations.
A seven-game winless streak has left promoted Burnley in 15th place, five points adrift of the relegation zone.
Dyche, who has led the Lancashire club for the last four seasons, said he had never set points targets with the club.
"We have been promoted twice and didn't set a points' target then either," he told a news conference.
"You just have to get to the point where you get the job done, so that's our focus and we can only get there one game at a time."
While many pundits predicted Burnley were prime candidates to be sent straight back down to the Championship, Dyche said simply having a five-point gap to the drop zone was a bonus.
"It's nice in a way people are talking about that because no one gave us a chance before a ball was kicked," he said.
Burnley, who host ninth-placed Stoke City in the league on Tuesday, suffered a 2-0 defeat on Saturday to second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, which ended their six-game unbeaten run at Turf Moor.
Dyche took plenty of positives from the game and hoped his side would turn good performances into points.
"You've sometimes got to look slightly beyond the results, but appreciate we've got to move forward, get more results and get more points on the table," the 45-year-old added.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)