Burnley, Scotland and Evangelos Marinakis – The last time Sean Dyche tasted UEFA Europa League football

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New Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has competed in the UEFA Europa League once before. His Burnley side qualified for the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League and went head-to-head with Evangelos Marinakis' Olympiacos. Dyche has replaced Ange Postecoglou as manager of Nottingham Forest. Postecoglou lasted just 39 days in the role and failed to win any of his eight games in charge.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

It is official, Sean Dyche is the new manager of Nottingham Forest.

The former Everton and Burnley boss has replaced Ange Postecoglou in the role after a disastrous 39-day stint that saw the Aussie fail to win any of his eight games in charge.

Dyche may be no stranger to the Premier League, but his first game with Forest will actually be in the UEFA Europa League.

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His new side will face Portuguese giants Porto at City Ground on Thursday, and they will be desperate to get their first win in Europe this season after a draw and a defeat.

Fortunately for Forest fans, this will not be Dyche’s first foray in UEFA competition.

However, a look back at Burnley’s 2018/19 Europa League may not offer them much comfort at all.

A bizarre European tour with Burnley

Burnley qualified for the Europa League seven years ago after finishing seventh in the Premier League.

It was their first appearance in a European competition in more than 50 years, but it did not go to plan.

They entered the tournament in the second qualifying round, setting up an all-British tie with Scottish side Aberdeen.

Sean Dyche and Chris Wood together for Burnley in the UEFA Europa League.

Image credit: Getty Images

They scraped through by the skin of their teeth, drawing the first leg 1-1 before needing extra time to secure a 3-1 victory in the second.

They went head-to-head with Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir in the third qualifying round, but once again required extra time to secure a 1-0 aggregate win across two legs.

That set up a clash with Greek side Olympiacos in the play-off round, and here is where things get interesting.

A meeting with Mr Marinakis

English fans may know Evangelos Marinakis as the owner of Nottingham Forest, but he also owns Olympiacos.

He was in charge of the club when they met Burnley in the Europa League, and the Greek businessman's side came out on top.

The first leg in Piraeus ended with a 3-1 win for the Greek giants, with Ben Gibson being sent off.

Burnley went on to draw the second leg at Turf Moor 1-1, bringing their European adventure to an end.

They may not have qualified for the group stages of the competition, but it was a remarkable achievement from Dyche all the same.

Since their last appearance in Europe, Burnley had competed in all four of England's professional leagues.

They were clearly overachieving under Dyche, and if the experienced Premier League manager can get this Forest side firing, they could go deep into the competition.

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