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Burnley boss Sean Dyche was delighted with the way his men dealt with Fulham’s threats as they ran out 2-0 winners at Craven Cottage to secure their Premier League status.
First-half goals from Ashley Westwood and Chris Wood gave the Clarets all three points. And in doing so it meant Fulham will join Sheffield United and West Brom in the Championship next season.
It has been a tough campaign for the Turf Moor outfit. They too were flirting with relegation for a while. But, with 39 points in the bag, they can now breathe a little easier for the remaining three games.
Dyche was a relieved man after the final whistle and praised the resilience of all connected with Burnley.
“I’m pleased for a lot of people at the club,” he told BBC Sport. “It is important for the club, it is important for the town. It’s been a real challenging season with the sale of the club.
“There was not a lot of investment from the outgoing owners and we’ve had a lot of injury problems.”
It was an even contest until the Clarets double strike towards the end of the first period. And Dyche was happy with the way his men coped with the host’s tactics.
“They changed their style putting the ball forward a lot quicker than they have been doing,” he added. “We dealt with that well and scored two good goals. The second half became a dogfight and we are good at that.”
Dyche delighted for Wood
Chris Wood scored the all-important second goal with a 20-yard strike. It came just before the break and meant the visitors had a decent cushion.
And Dyche felt it was just reward for the giant Kiwi’s efforts.
“I’ve been pleased for Chris Wood,” he continued. “There was a lot of noise about our strikers not scoring goals but he has shown what he is about as the season has gone on.
“It’s been a big shift from the players. We had two points from seven games.”
Burnley now sit 14th in the Premier League standings with just three games to go. It always looked as though they would escape the drop after a decent run of form through February and March.
Dyche will now be able to experiment with a few fringe players during the remaining matches. They start with the visit of Leeds United on Saturday.
Liverpool follow before the relegated Blades play host to the Lancashire club on the final day of the season.
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: West Brom, Fulham chasing in-form Championship striker
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