Sean Dyche feels he earned the respect of Burnley fans but insists an ovation is not necessary as he returns to Turf Moor this weekend.
The Everton manager remains a firm favourite with Clarets supporters after a highly impressive decade with their club in which he won two promotions, finished seventh in the Premier League and qualified for Europe.
He is likely to get a huge welcome as takes his current side to his former stomping ground on Saturday, but he modestly claims there is no need.
“But I think I earned the right with the Burnley fans and I think I’m beginning to earn the right with the Evertonians.
“I think it takes time, I’ve always believed that. I’m willing to earn it, I’m willing to put the hard yards in myself. I don’t just ask it of the team, but we’ll wait and see.”
Such is the esteem in which Dyche is held in Burnley that he still has a pub named after him close to the stadium.
“I’ll pop in my pub obviously,” he said sarcastically at his pre-match press conference. “People think it’s mine but it’s not!”
Dyche left Burnley as they slipped towards relegation in April 2022. They have since returned to the top flight under Vincent Kompany after winning the Sky Bet Championship last season, but have found the going tough, collecting just eight points from their opening 16 games.
Dyche said: “They had a fantastic season last season and I saw Vincent at one of the LMA (League Managers Association) dos and commended him on the work that they’ve done.
“They’ve spent money, but how do you buy players who are game-ready for the Premier League? It’s not easy.
“Then you’ve got to develop. You’ve got to mould it, you’ve got to form it, you’ve got to produce a team that can win.
“It’s a massive challenge for anyone going up and I’m told from colleagues who are in the Championship that the gap’s got bigger. It’s even harder to make that jump.”
Dyche will push sentiment aside as he looks for Everton, who were hit with a 10-point deduction last month, to build on the three-game winning run that has lifted them out of the relegation zone.
He said: “The form was good before, but it’s about winning and that really comes down to taking your chances.
“We have done that in these games recently. We’ve created a lot and we’ve taken them, and we’ve kept clean sheets.
“So that’s the mixture every football manager and every player should want. We’ve got to keep working hard to get that to continue.”
