Burnley manager Sean Dyche is unrepentant about the defensive mindset his side adopted at Tottenham last week, labelling the approach “reality tactics”.
The Clarets had just 30 per cent possession and no shots on target at Wembley but they defended resolutely from the front until substitute Christian Eriksen struck in time added-on to give Spurs a hard-earned 1-0 victory.
Defeat kept Burnley in the bottom three in the Premier League but Dyche, who may once again field a back three at Arsenal in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, took a pragmatic view of how he set up his side.
He said: “It’s simple for me: it’s reality tactics. If everyone thinks that every team in the Premier League is going to play the beautiful game, at the moment there’s only one winner and that’s Manchester City.
“We’ve got to find a way and we’ve done that consistently over the six years that I’ve been here. We’ve found a way of being successful.
“We’ve had to fight, we’ve had to work, we’ve played some good stuff at times, we’ve played some productive stuff, we’ve played some hard stuff, but we’ve found a way and I think that doesn’t change.
“When you’re playing these big clubs it’s very, very difficult. It’s more reality tactics rather than negative tactics for me.”
Dyche has been heartened by Burnley’s recent displays but admitted – with his side in the relegation zone, albeit on goal difference alone – that collecting points is more important.
Speaking to preview his side’s trip to the Emirates Stadium to take on the Gunners, he said: “We’ve been close and we’ve delivered good performances.
“Performances are coming back to what we think. We can still do better for sure, but they have to get the reward of points because that’s the industry we’re in.”