Lee Grant reveals all on Sean Dyche's attempts to axe 'poisonous' players from his Burnley squad

Lee Grant reveals all on Sean Dyche’s attempts to axe ‘poisonous’ players from his Burnley squad in 2012 – with stars asked to write down number of unruly team-mates in drastic bid to rid ‘toxic attitude’ from Turf Moor

  • Sean Dyche’s methods to clean out his Burnley squad have now been uncovered 
  • Former Turf Moor goalkeeper Lee Grant has opened up on Dyche’s crackdown 
  • Dyche asked his squad in 2012 to identity the number of ‘poisonous’ team-mates 
  • The attempts paid dividends with Premier League promotion the following year 

Lee Grant has lifted the lid on Sean Dyche’s drastic attempts to rid ‘poisonous’ players from his Burnley squad shortly after taking over.

The 38-year-old goalkeeper, who played at Turf Moor between 2010 and 2013, provided a fascinating insight into Dyche’s attempted crackdown on bad influences.

Players were asked to write down the number of team-mates they believed had the potential to stir up negativity, according to Grant, with Dyche then aiming to uncover their identities and sell them.

Lee Grant, now at Manchester United, played for Burnley between 2010 and 2013

Sean Dyche replaced Eddie Howe permanently at Burnley in late 2012 before guiding the club to glory

Lee Grant has revealed all on Sean Dyche’s attempts to rid his Burnley squad of ‘toxic’ players

Dyche’s desire to uphold discipline within his ranks at the Lancashire club is no secret – and one of his first tasks after taking up his role in October 2012 was to carry out an in-depth review of his players.

Within his first week, the no-nonsense tactician set to work by asking the squad to not hold back in telling the truth about their peers. 

Grant told The Athletic: ‘One of the first things Sean did was hand each of us a sheet of paper. 

Dyche took over at Turf Moor in 2012 and wasted no time in carrying out a review of his squad

Dyche took over at Turf Moor in 2012 and wasted no time in carrying out a review of his squad

‘He said he wanted to know from every player, anonymously, how many players there were in the dressing room who were… not snakes, perhaps, but capable of damaging the team spirit because they had a toxic attitude. 

‘”How many players have I got who are going to be a negative influence?” he said. “I don’t want their names, just the number. Then leave the rest to me”.

‘We all wrote down a number – some of the lads might have said one, some might have said 10 – and then he collected them in. 

The keen disciplinarian's attempts soon paid off with Premier League promotion the next year

The keen disciplinarian’s attempts soon paid off with Premier League promotion the next year

‘He came back with the average score and said, “Right, I think there are two lads in here who are poisonous to the group and now it’s my job to find out who they are and weed them out”. 

And, as you can imagine, Sean didn’t waste much time on that front. It was a huge thing for him not to have that negativity in the dressing room.’  

The change of regime at the club, with Dyche replacing Eddie Howe permanently, quickly paid dividends. 

Grant, 38, played for Burnley between 2010 and 2013 before leaving the club as a free agent

Grant, 38, played for Burnley between 2010 and 2013 before leaving the club as a free agent

An 11th place finish was achieved in Dyche’s first campaign at the helm – before automatic promotion to the Premier League was achieved just the following year. 

Grant departed in July 2013 after being released and signed for Derby.

A further spell with Stoke, initially on loan, then led to his dream switch to Manchester United.

source: dailymail.co.uk