British managers back in fashion as Rodgers, Dyche and Wilder impress

Sean Dyche says the success that Brendan Rodgers and Chris Wilder are having could wake Premier League chairmen up to appointing more British managers. Dyche, who must also be among the early candidates for Manager of the Year, believes doors for British coaches at the so-called top-six clubs will eventually open.
Frank Lampard landed the Chelsea job this year and the Englishman represents a new breed of high-profile coach, who appears to be learning on the job – having not spent years coming through the ranks at lower levels.
But Rodgers, who was the last British coach of a top-six side before Lampard, did his apprenticeship at Watford, Reading and Swansea before landing the Liverpool job.
And Wilder, the League Managers Association’s choice for top boss in 2019, had spells at Alfreton Town, Halifax Town, Oxfor United and Northampton Town before he brought Sheffield United up two levels from League One.
Dyche, who is approaching a landmark moment after almost seven years in charge at Burnley, reckons fashions are changing somewhat in Premier League boardrooms – although he is not holding his breath for a phone call. “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.”
When Dyche took over at Turf Moor in 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson still dominated the Premier League and Arsene Wenger was years away from ending his tenure at Arsenal.
And he remembers how the Burnley faithful that now adore him, and sing his name at a pub named after him down the road from the ground, weren’t sure about his appointment at first. “I think Mick ­McCarthy and Ian Holloway were the favourites, and I was just ­another name in the frame,” he added.