Burnley 1-0 Nottingham Forest: Sean Dyche and Dougie Freedman reaction
Wednesday 24 February 2016 11:47, UK
Sean Dyche thought Burnley's patience paid off in the 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest as Sam Vokes' 10th goal of the season kept them in the Championship's top two.
With both Hull and Middlesbrough winning, the Clarets were in danger of ceding an automatic promotion berth they had only moved in to at the weekend when they were being held by Forest.
However, a fine move down the left in the 68th minute ended with Stephen Ward squaring for Vokes to finish after George Boyd had dummied.
Although Burnley never looked troubled, there was a sense of apprehension around Turf Moor as Forest pinned them back in the early part of the second half, not that Dyche was ever worried about his men extending their unbeaten run to 10 games.
"The crowd were a bit edgy tonight, which is unusual here, I don't know why," Dyche said.
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"If I was a fan I'd be looking at it thinking it's a really good game of football and a side that looks like they're going to win it - you can't guarantee that, of course. But it's that time of the season when people starting thinking like that. We don't, we just get on with the next game, that's our focus.
"They've seen some good football tonight and for a long time here. We want them to stay patient with us, as the team did. There was no panic feel to the performance, it was a controlled performance; we always felt like we'd get chances to score."
A head injury to Michael Keane forced Dyche into an alteration to his starting line-up for the first time this month as James Tarkowski came in for his full debut, but there were no other changes for the home side.
Dyche went with a settled side in their promotion campaign two seasons ago and while other managers are tinkering during the gruelling fixture list, he sees no reason to deviate from his approach.
"I know the stats, I know how powerful they are," Dyche added of his group. "We've been going strong down the leagues since I got my own group together.
"There's a fantastic mind-set, physicality, belief in what we do. We train right all the time, deliver right all the time. I have absolute faith in my group getting stronger and stronger.
"The stats now are as strong as than they've been all season, physically. I've got no reason to overthink it."
Forest barely threatened Tom Heaton's goal, with his only save coming from a tame Jamie Ward effort in the first half, and manager Dougie Freedman admitted the hosts' forward line of Vokes and the division's top scorer Andre Gray was the difference.
"The difference, in any division, but certainly in this division, is they've got two very capable strikers," the Scot suggested.
"Sam Vokes got one chance and has taken the goal and that's the difference tonight.
"I thought my players showed all they could, were very committed, and you saw exactly what Burnley are. They're a very experienced side that grind teams down and when they got an opportunity, because of their strikeforce, they take it."