Dyche urges ‘common sense’ and won’t weigh players

Dyche urges ‘common sense’ and won’t weigh players: Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche has called on his squad to exercise restraint and practical judgment during the Christmas period, making it clear he has no intention of copying Pep Guardiola’s much-discussed habit of weighing players upon their return to training.

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Forest welcome Manchester City to the City Ground on Saturday in the early kick-off, and Guardiola has already confirmed that his players will step onto the scales after the festive break to ensure indulgence has not dulled their physical edge.

Dyche, never one to miss a dry aside, brushed off the idea with a grin. “Is Pep weighing himself as well?” he quipped when asked whether Forest would adopt a similar regime.

He went on to underline a point he regularly drills into his players. “Their passport doesn’t just say footballer. It says professional footballer. That distinction matters,” he said. “Plenty of people dream about playing the game, but the profession comes with obligations beyond ninety minutes on a pitch.”

For Dyche, the solution is not surveillance but sense. “I’m not against them sitting down to a proper Christmas dinner. Why wouldn’t they? They just need to apply a bit of judgement,” he added.

Forest arrive at the weekend on the back of a narrow 1–0 defeat at Fulham on Monday, a result that leaves them hovering uncomfortably close to danger, one place and five points above the relegation line.

Dyche acknowledges that the modern game thrives on microscopic detail, and while he values precision, he also believes trust plays an equally vital role. “There’s an obsession now with metrics and margins, and I’m not blind to that,” he explained. “But footballers are human beings. The mental side can be just as decisive as any statistic.”

He is keen for his players to savour Christmas Day without guilt. “Within reason, you want them to enjoy it. I certainly will. It’s part of life, not a distraction from it,” he said.

That does not mean standards disappear. Dyche remains attentive, if not fanatical, about physical markers. “Numbers matter, of course, but I’m not enslaved by scales and spreadsheets. I keep an eye on things without becoming consumed by them,” he noted.

The message to the squad is simple: enjoy the break, but do so intelligently. “They’ve got the day off. That’s fine. Just don’t abandon common sense,” he said.

Dyche also pointed to the education of younger players emerging from the academy system. “The lads coming through now know the basics inside out. What fuels the body, when to eat, how to recover, the value of sleep this isn’t guesswork anymore. They understand how to look after themselves.”

As Forest prepare to face the champions, Dyche’s stance is clear. Festive cheer is permitted, excess is not, and professionalism, not paranoia, remains the guiding principle.