SEAN Dyche insists winning is all that matters to him and Burnley as he seeks a way to stop the Manchester City juggernaut at Turf Moor today.

Pep Guardiola's side have been beaten just once in the Premier League this season and they sit 15 points clear at the top.

There has been plenty of discussion recently over styles of play and the physicality with which some of City's opponents have approached the task, but Dyche believes the art of tackling has to remain part of the game and part of an armoury to try and find the path to three points.

Guardiola has been angry at tackles from Cardiff City's Joe Bennett and West Brom's Matt Phillips on Leroy Sane and Brahim Diaz this week, but Dyche won't be telling his players to tread carefully.

"I think just play the game, the idea is to play the game properly and appropriately," he said. "Some of the challenges are down to the skill level of the player and how fast they are, how quick their mind works.

"I think tackling is still part of the game, and it’s a very difficult skill. Much more difficult than people make it out to be.

"There’s less malice in the game compared to when I was playing. There is way less physical contact. So that’s something that has changed, not for better or worse, but it’s a lot less physical."

Dyche also disputes claims that players need more protection from bad tackles, adding: "They get protection for the oddest things. They get protection if someone touches them on the shoulder. Where else do you want?

"Protection is a strange word – it’s a game of football. It’s two sides trying to win a game of football. You are trying to win the ball back for your team. I don’t think protection is the right word. I think it’s more management of the game, referees managing the game."

The challenge of finding a way to win is certainly a tough one against City, with Dyche admitting the title race is already over.

But he cites Atletico Madrid's approach under Diego Simeone as a team doing what they have to do to claim victory.

"The actual job of a manager and a team is to win and to find a way to win," said Dyche.

"The one obvious one is Atletico Madrid. When they first started doing it everyone said ‘that’s not the way’ but because they have been successful everyone says ‘it’s fantastic what they do’.

"They are good it. That wasn’t the standard brand for Spanish football. That’s innovation.

"The job is to win. Operate in whatever way you need to. Man City don’t need to change much. For the rest of us, it’s what can we do to win. That’s what it is for me.

"Too many managers are going out the game losing their jobs trying to make players play a way they are not capable of.

"For the greater good of football, but then six months later they are out of a job. You have to be careful.

"Two things will never go out of fashion – a team that works hard. Fans love to see that, whatever level of fan you are. Players with a shirt on working really hard. The other thing is winning."