Sean Dyche has called upon his Burnley players to avoid being consigned to the Emirates FA Cup’s history books for the wrong reasons, when Lincoln City travel to east Lancashire on Saturday.
The National League leaders travel are aiming to become the first non-league side in the competition’s history to reach the quarter-finals, but to do so they must achieve a feat that only Swansea City, Arsenal and Manchester City have done this season – record a win at Turf Moor.
Burnley are unbeaten in their previous eight games on their own patch, and Dyche is keen for his side to show their battling qualities to reach the last eight of the cup for the first time in 14 years.
The Clarets chief said that being favourites for the tie ‘doesn’t come into my thinking,’ and added his side ‘have got to be right, we know we’ve got to perform and we’ve done very well at doing that.’
Dyche continued that the ‘application and focus on our next challenge has been very good, and that’s what we’ll use again,’ and believes his side ‘know they have to fight and they the opposition will fight, so I think there is a clear-mindedness… to the way we work here.’
'The mentality is vital'
The Clarets eased past Sunderland and Bristol City in the previous two rounds whilst being able to rest a clutch of regular first-team players – but says a similar volume of changes is not to be expected for the visit of Daniel Cowley’s Imps tomorrow.
Dyche affirmed he would ‘not change because it’s a cup game against a team like Lincoln… the way we’ve worked has served us well,’ and insisted ‘I’ll probably enhance that thinking, and say ‘all the details are important, the mentality is vital.’’
Turf Moor boss Dyche added that ‘the physicality is a given for us because we know how fit we are, but we’ve got to be right to take the challenge on.’
Burnley will be without the cup-tied Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick and Steven Defour, who miss out through suspension and injury respectively.