It should have been the worst day of the year, one every player would be forgiven for wanting to avoid, but “gaffer’s day” at Burnley was integral to what Sean Dyche built. The manager would give his coaches the day off, make sure footballs were left at home and disregard modern technology, except a stopwatch and whistle, before putting his squad through nigh-on depraved acts of running, all in the name of team bonding and, to a lesser extent, fitness.
Dyche returns to Turf Moor on Saturday night with Everton for the first time since being sacked in April 2022. His decade at Burnley was an overall triumph of two promotions and seven seasons in the Premier League, and even a brief venture into Europe. He took great enjoyment in making his players suffer on his special day in pre-season, getting them to run until they could no more as part of his legacy.
“It is a great day,” the former Burnley striker Sam Vokes says. “It is the toughest physical test I have ever done but mentally, when you come out the other side, it brings the squad closer because you remember those tough times together. I remember missing one because I did my cruciate ligament; it sounds stupid but I was watching from the sidelines and I was gutted to not be involved because you see the lads finish and they are all together, and it builds the character of the team for the season.”
Eddie Howe’s abrupt exit in October 2012 brought Dyche north, where he would live with his assistant Ian Woan in a flat. Burnley had spent one season of the previous 34 in the top flight and were mid-table in the Championship. It was not the most attractive offer but he could not grumble because he was out of work after being dismissed by Watford.
The good news for Dyche was he inherited a squad with potential. The youngsters Kieran Trippier and Ben Mee had recently arrived from Manchester City, and Charlie Austin was prolific in the second tier. “I remember some of the original meetings and it was very much – more than tactics or technical stuff – about changing the mentality of the club and players to align to his culture,” Vokes says. “That was key early on. Getting a fit and headstrong squad was the most important and it paid off, and the following season we got promoted as underdogs.”
As a Glastonbury connoisseur, Dyche was keen to get the vibe right. “He would let you know if he didn’t like the music but I got quite a few approvals so I was quite happy with that,” Vokes says. “Especially in the promotion year, he got into his house music. There was a song called Waves by Mr Probz and he used to love that tune, so we played it all the time. When you hear a song and it reminds you of a moment, it always makes me think of the promotion. He loves Kasabian so used to stick that on as well if we won a game. Win, lose or draw he always wanted the music on because he did not want people to feel sorry for themselves. It was: move on to the next game.”
Outside Burnley, Dyche’s style was seen as agricultural which could explain why it took him nine months to find a job before Everton came calling. He has proved himself at Goodison Park, leading the club to survival last season after replacing Frank Lampard, and has recreated the team spirit of the early years at Turf Moor after Everton were deducted 10 points. They have won five of their past seven matches to keep them out of the relegation zone.
Of his time at Burnley, Vokes says: “It is definitely the closest dressing room I’ve had in my career because it was such a tight group of lads who were on the same wavelength. Dyche did a lot of due diligence to make sure he brought in the same characters. It is tough when things aren’t going your way but there was never any bitterness because we were all good mates, as well as teammates.
“It is quite easy to call him old school or 4-4-2 man but behind that was a lot of hard work and team mentality that he built before the tactics stuff. He gets the right characters in the buildings. Who is to say his way is the wrong way to play? A lot of people rubbish 4-4-2 and long-ball football but when you have the right characters, personalities and type of players, I don’t think it is the wrong way to play at all – it is effective.”
Maintaining the standards was difficult and tension simmered after Burnley were eliminated from the Europa League in 2018-19 before the group stage. Players were upset that Dyche did not take it seriously and communicated this to the manager. It should have been the peak of Dyche’s spell after their seventh-place finish but caused friction within the stable environment he had constructed.
The mood in the dressing room soured in his final season; familiarity had bred contempt, with players unhappy over the lack of investment in the squad, the stagnant style and the manager’s treatment of certain players amid a loss of form. All good things have to come to an end.
The Everton manager will drive past the Royal Dyche on his way into Turf Moor. Trophies and medals are nice but there is no greater accolade than having a pub named in your honour. Dyche will be celebrated as he marches across the pitch from tunnel to dugout but he will be hoping his opposite number will be hosting a team bonding session of the mournful kind.
