Sean Dyche has only had one job interview in his life – and he landed the golden ticket.
Seven years later, the king of Burnley has won promotion to the Premier League twice, taken the Clarets into Europe, and had a pub in the town named after him.
So far, football’s most under-rated English manager – the fourth longest-serving in all four divisions – has yet to have a drink in the Royal Dyche, just 400 yards down the road from Turf Moor.
Apart from the occasional Thursday night meal out with his staff – in the pub by 6pm and in bed by 9pm – Dyche simply doesn’t have time to socialise.
But approaching the seventh anniversary of his appointment next week, he is justifiably proud of his strike rate.
“One interview, one job. It’s like my penalty-taking record,” grinned Dyche, too often damned with faint praise about Burnley’s directness when they have churned out England internationals on his watch.
And one of these days, when ‘big’ clubs discover boutique vogue is no substitute for efficiency, he might even land one of the plum jobs – although he is not holding his breath.
“Good people get the good jobs, and that’s the way it is,” he said.
“I certainly enthuse about British managers doing well and, if there’s enough of us doing a good job, at some point maybe owners will think, ‘Are we missing a trick here?’ Hopefully, that will open more doorways, and open-mindedness, towards English or British coaches.
“It’s not about me, or whether I get a chance at one of the perceived big clubs, but a collective thing about home-grown managers and what we have to offer.”
When Dyche took over in 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson was still at large and Arsene Wenger had three more trophies to win before his sunset at Arsenal .
Apart from longevity itself, Dyche believes his greatest achievement, since replacing Eddie Howe, has been a harmonious unity of purpose on and off the pitch.
“We have managed to turn a club that was perhaps questioning where it belonged, into the whole town – more or less – totally buying into what we are doing,” he said.
“In the world where we live now, that connectivity between a club and its fan base is more relevant than ever. We know that winning advances that connection, and so far we have won more than we’ve lost.
“They didn’t really want me here at the start. I think Mick McCarthy and Ian Holloway were the favourites, and I was just another name in the frame.
“It’s hard to take on a job when you have to win over a lot of people’s hearts and minds. For six months, our results were up and down... I learned a lot about myself and the task I had taken on.
“The second difficult period was relegation. The reason I survived was a real, solid truth about the way we spoke in the boardroom. Even though we went down, there was no debt, no losses, and at least we had upgraded the fabric of the club for a year in the Premier League.
“And last season, we only had 12 points from 19 games, which is enough to get you out at a lot of clubs, but the fans understood the reasons and stayed with us. That was class.”
In reality, the ‘sliding doors’ moment in Dyche’s managerial career had come just 13 games into his first job at Watford .
With a patchwork squad and a chump of an owner – Laurence Bassini, the discharged bankrupt, who tried to buy Bolton earlier this year – eight defeats and only two wins in his first 14 games had left him with no margin for error.
He was given a rough ride at a fans’ forum, and his baptism in the dugout could have been shortlived, until acting chairman Graham Taylor and godfather of Vicarage Road, stood up for him.
“I was getting absolutely mullered,” said Dyche. “Graham, bless his soul, said, ‘Hang on a minute – this fella is answering every one of your questions with candour and honesty, so let’s show him some courtesy’.
“Graham was a powerful influence at Watford, rightly so, and you could feel the shift in attitude. I’ll never forget that.
“And Steve Bruce saved my career by selling us Nyron Nosworthy from Sunderland for a pitiful amount. Without those two twists of fate, who knows where I could have ended up? Maybe another first-time manager who had a go but didn’t make it.”
Dyche, 48, has learned to surf the barbs about Burnley’s style and added: “The longer you are in the game, the more it washes over you. I could rebrand this team immediately, and start rolling it along the six-yard line, but I don’t think it would work.
“But, whatever your style, winning will never go out of fashion.”
