IT is not a matter of public record as to whether or not Sean Dyche owns a cat. But if he does, said moggy might be best advised to hide away for a few days, lest its owner decides to vent his frustration by swinging a leg in its direction.

Despite putting a decent-looking Barnsley side to the sword, the Burnley manager wasn’t in the mood for dispensing glad tidings of comfort and joy in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s win.

The subject of his ire was a small but very vocal minority of paying punters, who were not slow in expressing their dissatisfaction about the way the Clarets went about dispatching a team who, on paper at least, are the worst in the division.

When Dyche said that he was “getting to know our crowd”, his comment carried a very clear inference that it was not the kind of relationship that would involve the exchange of Christmas gifts over a few snifters.

“People have been saying we’re on a mini-slump” he continued. “Going from first to third and back to first is a pretty impressive mini-slump and certainly the best I’ve been on.”

You can see his point. Dyche has faced plenty of challenges in his first full term; selling his most prized asset to a leading competitor, not being allowed to replace him, and working with the smallest squad and budget in the Championship to name but three.

Avoiding relegation was the best most fans hoped for at the start of the campaign.

And yet Burnley sit at the division’s summit, beaten only twice in the league, with two new goal-scoring heroes, a terrific team spirit and everyone else scratching their heads wondering just how that works.

In short, he has far outstripped all reasonable expectations. So when a few in the crowd start moaning because one or two passes go astray, you can understand why Dyche might be aggrieved.

We’ve been here before, of course. Stan Ternent famously accused supporters of having champagne tastes on beer money. And like Ternent, Dyche has become a victim of his own success.

At this point, the board need to step in come January and give some serious backing to their man. Given that one or both of Ings and Vokes will attract bidders in the summer, it’s not like the club won’t be able to recoup a modest.

It may just keep Dyche’s cat out of trouble too.