AFP, Burnley :
Irish international Jeff Hendrick’s second-half goal gave Burnley only their second home win of the season on Monday, edging Newcastle United 1-0 in their Premier League clash.
The 25-year-old’s goal lifted Burnley up to the heady heights of seventh, but may have heightened Everton’s interest in their manager Sean Dyche to fill the vacancy left by Ronald Koeman’s sacking.
Dyche, who has been in charge at Turf Moor for five years, played a straight bat when asked what he would do if Everton approached him.
“I just keep going on with my job,” the 46-year-old told Sky Sports.
Rafael Benitez’s Newcastle are ninth after the defeat.
“We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We have to improve on everything,” said the Spaniard.
The hosts had the better of the opening 10 minutes, putting the Newcastle defence under pressure, and Hendrick should have done better than scuff his shot from close range in the third minute.
It was visiting midfielder Jonjo Shelvey who had the first genuine shot on target as his long-range effort was caught by Burnley ‘keeper Nick Pope.
Ashley Barnes, standing in for the injured Chris Wood up front, should have done better when he was picked out by Robbie Brady’s superb cross on the half-hour mark, but his header went well wide.
Newcastle went even closer to opening the scoring early in the second half but Pope, who has proved a great replacement since coming in for the injured Tom Heaton, produced a superb save to deny Ayoze Perez.
It was Ayoze, though, who was at fault for the move that led to Hendrick’s goal.
The 24-year-old Spaniard was dispossessed in his own half and when Jack Cork’s shot was batted away by Rob Elliot, Johann Gudmundsson was on hand to cross the ball to the far post where an unmarked Hendrick made no mistake, chesting down and firing the ball into the roof of the net.
Elliot denied Burnley a second with two minutes remaining, getting down well to save Barnes’s stinging effort from the edge of the penalty area following a superb lay-off by Hendrick.
Pope also saved his side at the death, producing another stop out of the top drawer to tip Isaac Hayden’s shot around the post.
