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Dyche not concerned by Man City player rows

Dyche has played down player spats. Credit: PA

Burnley boss Sean Dyche believes dressing-room spats between players are "a natural occurrence" at the highest level.

Manchester City visit Turf Moor on Saturday at the end of a week where the club have been forced to play down reports that captain Vincent Kompany was dropped following a bust-up with team-mate Fernandinho.

The row allegedly came at half-time during their defeat by Liverpool earlier this month, with neither player in the starting line-up for the clash with Leicester three days later.

But Dyche dismissed suggestions it was a good time to face City and can understand why passions occasionally run too high.

He said: "I think it's a natural occurrence. You've got highly-talented, highly-motivated people, all in a working environment that's very challenging.

Burnley are without a win in two months and sit second bottom of the Premier League table, three points from safety.

But City and manager Manuel Pellegrini will certainly not underestimate the Clarets after their stunning performance at the Etihad in December, when they fought back from 2-0 down to claim a draw.

Dyche said: "They've got some fantastic players. We experienced that once before, we gave a good performance and I think overall deserved a point out of the game. But that doesn't guarantee us anything this time around."