Monday 18 March 2019 10:22, UK
Burnley boss Sean Dyche believes his side's failure to adapt to Harry Maguire's early sending-off was pivotal to their last-gasp Premier League defeat to Leicester on Saturday.
The Foxes centre-back was dismissed after just four minutes at Turf Moor for a last-man foul on Johann Berg Gudmundsson.
Dwight McNeil cancelled out James Maddison's free-kick and the Clarets dominated the second half in search of the lead.
But substitute Wes Morgan popped up in the 90th minute to secure a 2-1 win to leave the East Lancashire club two points above the relegation zone in 17th.
Dyche feels the hosts never settled after their opponents were reduced to 10 men and feels it was significant to the outcome.
"First half we didn't get to grips with it really," said the 47-year-old.
"They went to 10 men and I think it was so early it kind of shocked us and we didn't get to grips with it.
"Second half we adjusted it and we kept the ball better without really breaking them open. But it is difficult. Teams bank in with a 4-4-1 as they often do and they look for a counter.
"They didn't really counter many times and in the end they win it on a soft set-piece from our point of view."
Though Burnley enjoyed ample possession as Leicester went into survival mode after half-time, they carved out precious few opportunities to go in front.
Ashley Barnes spurned the best of them, lifting the ball over from McNeil's centre.
Dyche's team should arguably have had a second-half penalty when Wilfred Ndidi tripped Charlie Taylor, but referee Michael Oliver was unmoved amid the protests.
Dyche feels the honesty of Taylor, 25, was his eventual undoing.
"He definitely clips him but [it's a] natural fall," he added. "You don't get them for natural falls. If he goes rolling around on the floor he's got a chance.
"I don't think you get them for natural falls. It is a shame because that is the way the game is going. It looks like a pen to me.
"I'm not making it about that, that is for the game to sort out. We should do enough to win a game and we haven't done that."
Having missed the chance to go five points clear of the bottom three with many of their rivals not playing, Burnley have the international break to contemplate their bleak position in the table.
They face key games against Wolves and at Bournemouth following the resumption of the domestic season, before a relegation six-pointer with 18th-placed Cardiff City.
"The clarity has to come," Dyche explained. "[The international break] gives the chance for the players to clear their minds.
"They'll be disappointed today as well as I am. There is a lot of football to be played and we've got to get back to the feel of what we do.
"We're not a million miles away but today was a tough one to take but that is the way it goes."
