Burnley won plenty of praise for the way they played, but not enough matches to stay in the Premier League and their relegation after one season in the top flight came as no real surprise.
|||Burnley won plenty of praise for the way they played, but not enough matches to stay in the Premier League and their relegation after one season in the top flight came as no real surprise.
Even though they won 1-0 at Hull City for a first victory and a first goal in six matches since they beat outgoing champions Manchester City 1-0 on March 14, Burnley occupied one of the bottom four positions for the entire season.
Their return to the Championship was confirmed by Newcastle United's 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion which left Burnley seven points from the safety zone with two games left.
Manager Sean Dyche and his men though have won plaudits for the battling spirit they have shown since winning promotion last year and although they were always favourites to make an immediate return to the Championship, they go down with their reputation intact and their heads held high.
“We have been competitive in virtually every game this season, but when we've needed to take our chances we haven't quite done that,” manager Dyche told Sky Sports after their fate was sealed.
“Our players have quality, but it's delivering it at the key moments and that's where we've fallen a little short over the season.”
Saturday's match-winner Danny Ings told the BBC: “I thought we showed unbelievable fight and spirit today.
“The lads have fought until the end - and I'm extremely proud of them. Now we are going to play the last two games with pride and hope to finish strongly.”
Ultimately Burnley's season had more “moral victories” than actual ones, and a lack of financial muscle and experienced top flight players made their task a tough one.
But, as Dyche explained: “We are a change from the norm. People normally throw money at it and hope for the best, but we have had to develop a team to play in this league.
“We have all learnt from this experience and the club is in a far better place than it was. It hasn't kept us in the division but there are great signs that we can move on beyond this point.”
Burnley's fans also appear to be behind Dyche and his men and are no doubt dreaming of a swift return.
After cheering on their team for virtually the whole match, they gave them a standing ovation at the end.
They may be down and out now, but there's every sign they could bounce back before too long. – Reuters
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