Sean Dyche came out fighting in response to Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of Burnley’s tackling.

Klopp was unhappy with the Clarets’ sliding tackles during his side’s 3-1 victory at Turf Moor on Wednesday and revealed he asked referee Stuart Atwell to curb the challenges despite accepting they were not fouls.

Joe Gomez suffered a potentially serious injury in a challenge by Ben Mee but Dyche commended his players for their tackling, citing a Phil Bardsley challenge on Albert Moreno, which was not given as a foul, as the only dubious one.

He said of Klopp’s remarks: “I was a little bit confused. I think he said there was a sliding tackle from some distance that everyone liked and it was a good tackle but you’re not allowed to do that tackle.

“There were some excellent tackles last night. I think the only one that was questionable was Bardo’s. I think Ben Mee’s was a fantastic tackle, and I think Gomez realised that. That was the messages we got after. We send him our best if there is any injury but it’s not from a bad tackle.

Dyche compared Klopp’s attitude with that of the Liverpool team he watched as a boyhood Reds’ fan, and also accused Daniel Sturridge of a first-half dive.

“It’s funny, he didn’t reference Daniel Sturridge’s cheating,” said the Burnley boss, who again played down an apparent verbal joust with Klopp following the final whistle. 

“I watched Liverpool as a kid and was a Liverpool fan growing up and they had a fantastic side of skill, will, demand and a physical edge.

“If that has gone, or the suggestion is you’re not allowed to make those tackles that our lads made last night, and it’s been replaced by cheating, I absolutely am happy to be old-fashioned.

Dyche believes his side are subject to lazy stereotypes and that a lack of physicality has been one of the reasons they have struggled this season.

“I think year on year we’ve been very low on bookings, sendings-off, and the like, so we can’t be that physical,” he said. “Last week we had the long ball thing against Newcastle; we had 478 passes. 

“I don’t remember getting beaten by Man City and saying, ‘Well they were a disgrace, they had 800 passes, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that’. There’s different ways of playing. You’ve got to try to win a game, and it’s very, very difficult for us at the moment quite obviously.”