Caretaker boss Mike Jackson pleased after Burnley ‘dig deep’ to topple Wolves

Posted Monday, April 25, 2022 by PA

Burnley moved out of the relegation zone with a battling 1-0 win over Wolves that delighted caretaker boss Mike Jackson, who joked he would like to celebrate the successful end to a whirlwind week by sinking eight pints.

Having been thrust into the Turf Moor hotseat following the surprise sacking of long-serving Sean Dyche on April 16, the under-23 coach has flourished and on Sunday secured a second victory from three unbeaten games in charge.

The impressive 1-1 draw at West Ham was followed by Thursday’s 2-0 home triumph over Southampton, before Matej Vydra sealed three more crucial points against Wolves.

The result propelled the Clarets out of the relegation zone – temporarily at least – and the run has injected new life into their survival bid.

“It’s a great result, really strong performance again,” Jackson said. “It’s the third game in a week so we’ve had to dig deep in areas of that game.

“We didn’t start the game great but we grew into it as the game went on and later in the first half we started to come into it more.

“We just tweaked a couple of things at half-time that we needed to get better and then we started second half well.

“We get the goal and then obviously it’s just about managing the game out a little bit, because there were a couple of lads carrying little knocks and niggles.

“I think it’ll be a big lift to the group (getting out of the relegation zone) if, fingers crossed, it can stay that way.

“But just from getting these results, I think psychologically for the group, what they’ve achieved this week will help them, will bring them together even more.”

Jackson does not believe complacency will be an issue for his group, nor will the Burnley coach be getting ahead of himself despite acknowledging the need to celebrate the Wolves win.

“My plan? I’d like to say eight pints but, no, I’ll be going home, sitting on the couch, see my family, and then go to see my dad (on Monday),” the Burnley caretaker said.

“When you win a game, enjoy that day. Next day, you’ll start thinking about everything else that goes with it but for now just the lads deserve to enjoy that day.

“They’ve had a really tough week and come out of it with some really good things.”

Jackson has done a sterling job since stepping in following Dyche’s exit but is unsure whether he will still be in charge for next weekend’s trip to relegation rivals Watford.

“It’s literally day to day,” he added. “We’ve come off the back of this week here and now it’s just about just enjoying that little bit of it, because there’s still a hell of a lot more football to come.

“It’s about us trying to improve, trying to get better in everything that we’re doing.”

While Burnley celebrate, Wolves head coach Bruno Lage left Turf Moor ruing what could have been as he saw another good performance fail to bring rewards.

“I think we have watched this game too many times this season,” he said.

“One thing is when we come from the game and we’re not playing well. OK, we don’t deserve nothing from this game, like happened against Newcastle and Crystal Palace.

“But (on Sunday) we deserve (something). I think we were the better team – after the third minute, we control everything.

“But, like I said, I watched this game too many times from my team.

“We were the better team, we create more chances. It’s a mistake from our side, we give them a chance to score and they score. They get the three points and we get nothing.

“The disappointment comes from that when we watch the league table and the way we play and lose some points. We deserve to be in a better position.

“And when we watch the other teams are also dropping points, I think we are missing a big chance to be better.”