Sean Dyche visits fans at Burnley pub which bears his name

Justine Lorriman, landlady of The Royal Dyche in the town, pulled together a spectacular, secret event for around 50 of her friends, family, fans and pub regulars.

The highly anticipated ‘Q&A’ session with the former Clarets boss had been in the works for Justine for quite a while.

Justine has been eager to get the former manager to visit ever since she renamed the pub after him in 2018, and earlier this week that dream became reality.

(Left to right) Justine Lorriman, Sean Dyche and Justine's sister Jodie Lorriman. Second photo: Sean Dyche and Justine's partner, Steph Bedford

She said: “I met him at a charity event in March and every time I’d speak to him he’d always said how much he wants to come down.

“So I had a phone call with his friends a couple of months ago to arrange the event. He’d never been to the pub so felt like the time was right to do it now, so he could have a proper farewell with the regulars and fans at the pub.”

Needing no introduction, Dyche was greeted with roaring cheers from the locals who were lucky enough to be invited to the private Q&A.

“He was really nice and down to earth. As soon as he walked in the building he walked around and shook hands with everybody and thanked everyone for coming. It was a really special afternoon.”

Sean Dyche signed the portrait of him in the beer garden

Dyche even signed the portrait of him in the pub garden.

Justine added: “The first thing he said was ‘if you go and get me a pen I’ll sign it for you, which I was blown away by.”

Justine’s time and effort spent improving the pub over the last nine years has paid off as she was able to share the success with her loved ones.

Justine's grandad Donald Copeman and Sean Dyche

The Q&A meant she could give her grandad, a Burnley supporter for around 60 years, a touching gift that he’ll cherish for life.

She said: “My grandad’s my absolute hero so it was amazing to give him that special moment. He’s never met Sean before, so it was really nice that he got to thank Sean for all his hard work.”

Sean came to the pub at around 3pm and stayed until 6.30pm. The afternoon was relaxed and was spent asking and answering questions between the Burnley fans.

One highlight came from Sean’s open answer to someone asking him ‘what moment did you realise that he’d made such an impact on the town?’

Justine said: “It was a really interesting question. He said it was when the club sold Charlie Austin and he got a sense that the fans were hurt by the board.

“They were really good questions and a great atmosphere. It could’ve gone one way or another, but it honestly couldn’t have been any better.”