Burnley boss Dyche weary as Everton links rumble on

Sean Dyche insists lingering speculation linking him with the job at Everton will not distract him and his Burnley squad as their collective stock continues to rise.

Dyche has been strongly associated with the vacancy at Goodison Park, although former Sunderland, England and Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce has emerged as a surprise favourite in recent days.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Southampton, with Burnley riding high in seventh following Monday’s 1-0 Premier League win over Newcastle United, Dyche entertained the inevitable enquiries about Everton with a studied weariness.

Asked whether there had been any approach from Everton, he said: “I just keep getting on with my job – the same as I did last week, the same as I did the week before.

“You can probably show the press conference from last week if we keep going down that question.”

Dyche believes his situation is no different to those experienced by his players when they have been linked with big-money moves – Michael Keane’s close-season switch, coincidentally to Everton, standing as the latest example at Turf Moor.

“They’ve got no reason not to focus on their jobs,” he said. “We continue to get on with business. It’s something they’ve become accustomed to in recent years

“They’ve had links themselves, I’ve had links and that’s the way it goes.

“That’s a part of the relative success that we’ve had as individual players and as a club.”

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Asked whether he needed to discuss the Everton situation with his players, Dyche replied: “No, because you [the media] do it all for them. You cover every inch of everyone who’s ever been linked in the history of every club, so they read that.

“I just keep getting on with my job, as I have done.”

Dyche identified a similar situation dealt with by Mauricio Pellegrino during his early days in charge of Burnley’s weekend opponents.

Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk was the subject of a public pursuit from Liverpool during the off-season and a transfer request resulted in him being banished from first-team affairs before a September return.

“They look a good side to me and they have done for the last few years, with a new manager yet again getting his principles to work,” he added.

“There are different players who have blended back into the team and the calming down of Van Dijk situation. He’s back playing, the very good player that he is.”