Burnley boss Sean Dyche set to face the team which helped his managerial success
Twenty years after an ill-fated spell as a Bristol City player, Burnley boss Sean Dyche is preparing to meet a team he credits with helping him become a managerial success.
Former Chesterfield defender Dyche only had two seasons at Ashton Gate and he spent time on loan with Luton during the second of those campaigns before moving on to Millwall, Watford and Northampton.
Of the five clubs he was permanently on the books of and played for, it was with the Robins where Dyche enjoyed the least personal success, yet, ahead of Bristol City's FA Cup clash with Burnley at Turf Moor, the 45-year-old thinks that stint proved vital for his football education.
"Unfortunately it didn't work out for me there," said Dyche, who has won two promotions to the top flight in three years.
"It worked out for the team - I joined in the first season as they got promoted - but I had a back injury and it just didn't work out for me as a player, it sometimes happens.
"I've always said I learned more in two years there of it not going right than I did from the rest of my career. It was invaluable to understand more about myself, the game, players, fans and dealing with everything, and that has been massively helpful for me when I became a manager."
Dean Marney will be missing for Burnley after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament for the second time in two years.
The midfielder will not return this season, though Dyche provided positive updates on Jeff Hendrick (back), Scott Arfield and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (both hamstring), with all three possibly in contention to feature.
Dyche made seven changes for the third-round replay against Sunderland and looks set to shuffle his pack again, with goalkeeper Nick Pope, defender James Tarkowski and midfielder Joey Barton likely to start.
Bristol City quartet Gary O'Neil, Mark Little, Adam Matthews and Korey Smith are all unlikely to feature.
O'Neil (groin) and Little (hamstring) both picked up injuries in last weekend's Sky Bet Championship defeat at Nottingham Forest and face a couple of weeks on the sidelines.
Matthews (calf and hamstring) and Smith (hamstring) are expected to be missing again, while City will check on Lee Tomlin who has been suffering from a sickness bug this week.
Robins boss Lee Johnson has confirmed Zak Vyner will start at Turf Moor, the teenage defender having spent the first half of the season on loan at nearby Accrington.
Source: PAR
