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Sean Dyche thinks Premier Leag...

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Sean Dyche thinks Premier League could help society get back to normal


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Burnley manager Sean Dyche believes that the return of the Premier League could help society find some sense of normality after the coronavirus pandemic.

Dyche would also be in favour of playing behind closed doors so the matches could be broadcast to football supporters stuck at home.

Football in the UK is suspended indefinitely and there have been no games since early March while the measures restricting the general public's movements were brought in by the goverment there on 23 March.

The resumption of the current Premier League season would almost certainly see the matches played without supporters in attendance and it would also need to get the go-ahead from the UK's National Health Service.

Dyche feels that the return of football action would provide a form of escapism for supporters.

"If football can kind of play its part in giving something back, because football is a powerful thing, we [should] try and look for that, I think, first," said Dyche on the Sky Sports Football Show.

"If we can give something back through the games, even if it is behind closed doors but it can be beamed out through different media streams, then I think that's got to be a good thing."

Burnley, where Irish internationals Jeff Hendrick, Robbie Brady and Kevin Long all ply their trade, could be hit hard by the financial impact of the pandemic.

The Lancashire outfit has said that it will continue to pay all matchday and non-matchday staff during the shutdown.

However, the club's chairman Mike Garlick warned earlier this month that they could lose up to £50 million if the current Premier League season doesn't resume.

Dyche is confident that they will be able to withstand whatever the impact is.

"We're different to many other Premier League clubs in the sense that it's been run in a very balanced way financially over a number of years," he added.

"We can take more time with decisions being made by the chairman.

"The first decision was to not furlough staff, and we're not having to make any further decisions at this moment.

"The chairman came out and said what the worst-case situation was but since then he has retracted a bit the things he said.

"Everyone had a knee-jerk reaction to the initial situation but when you look at the facts and figures of the club, we're in a very healthy financial position."


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Burnley Jeff Hendrick Kevin Long Premier League Robbie Brady Sean Dyche

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