Sean Dyche is back in the Premier League, answering Evangelos Marinakis' Nottingham Forest distress signal following the sacking of Ange Postecoglou.
The former Everton and Burnley boss takes over a Forest side in flux that currently sit in the bottom three following his predecessor's ill-fated 39-day reign at the City Ground and Dyche will know he has to quickly stop Forest's recent slide.
Sean Dyche on whether football takes itself too seriously
"I think there is an undercurrent of that and it is moving in that direction, but I hope it doesnt," he admits to FourFourTwo. "The demand for the characters in the game to be so pure and so the same is a worry. Say one bad word and youll get blasted out of the room. Managers and players are super safe, theyre advised about everything and thats a worry.
"I get the coverage is huge, its global and you have to conduct yourself a certain way, but I dont believe you cant have a bit of a joke or banter. I got in plenty of trouble just for having a laugh. We have to be careful managers now are just saying the same things.
And staying on the subject of what was better in years gone past, we then ask Dyche if football as also better back when centre-halves- the position he used to play - could have the first few without fear of the referee.
Thats a tricky one, he answers. I dont think allowing a few free ones was great and certainly didnt help a games attacking freedom. Having said that, I do think weve gone a bit too far now.
Players work within the rules, like they always have done, but the awards for going down too easily have made diving a part of the game and I dont think thats good for football. The rules of the game have got to such an odd level that were veering towards something no longer physical.
I dont want to see it going back to the days when I started out, but Id love to see the competitive edge go back to, say, the late 1990s or early 2000s levels. That was the best time. It was physical, there were duels all over the pitch. The crowds loved it.
Real competition, real physicality, tackles going in real tackles, not dirty ones from behind and going through players, but real well-timed and robust challenges at pace. Crowds love that and it adds to the game.
I think of the likes of Des Walker, the cleanest of defenders but an ultra-competitive one, and to see him go up against the best forwards was pure sporting pleasure.
