Burnley boss Dyche had hunch to bring on goalscorer Barnes
Sean Dyche admits he had a ‘gut feeling’ to bring on Ashley Barnes before the striker scored the winner for Burnley in their 3-2 defeat of Crystal Palace.
Barnes came off the bench to clinch the win for the Clarets in the 94th minute, his first goal since the 2014-15 campaign.
Dyche had three forwards to choose from when making his third and final substitution with just four minutes remaining on the clock, but claims he had a hunch when it came to sending Barnes onto the field.
(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
“A lot was made of that two years ago, when we went with two strikers, but we want to be flexible in our thinking,” he said.
“Before the game, I am sure a lot of people were wondering why we were not playing Gray. But it is nothing to do with Andre and his performance levels or the player, it is to do with the team and what team can we put out to win games at this level.
“They all respect that and that is one of the key things I have with this group, there is a respect about it and an honestly and pride in what they do. And I thought that was on display this afternoon.
“So open minds to get the job done and I had a decision to make. I looked round and I have Patrick Bamford, Andre and Barnsey, and sometimes it is by design and sometimes by gut feel.
“And there was a bit of gut feel about it. It was set up and I thought ‘let’s go for it’ and I was really pleased that I did obviously.”
