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Premier League: Burnley boss Sean Dyche happy to stick to underdog status

Image: Sean Dyche: Burnley boss happy for his side to be regarded as underdogs

Burnley boss Sean Dyche accepts that the Clarets will be regarded as underdogs in the Premier League this season.

"We work on positive realities here - I don’t do blind faith and we make it plain to the players that it’s something to be used wisely," Dyche told Sky Sports News HQ.

Dyche took Burnley to the Premier League after a superb season in the Championship, with the club having started the 2013/14 campaign as one of the favourites for relegation to League One.

"We’re among the sides that have been considered big underdogs in this division over the years and we know that but we also know that we worked under this mindset last season when people wrote us off," he said. 

"I don’t think it’s anything to be scared of, I just tell the truth - we know where we are as a group, it brings freedom but we have our own expectations and we don't think we're underdogs.

"It’s a stern challenge for me and my players as well because it’s arguably the best league in the world but we think we’re applying ourselves in the correct fashion and we just want to get that first win.

"The general performance was good and we’re well aware we want to improve that cutting edge at the top of the pitch."

The renewed debate over opportunities for young British players - sparked by Football Association proposals to introduce quotas on non-European Union signings - has placed a spotlight on the make-up of Premier League clubs' squads.

Burnley are an anomaly in having a predominantly British squad, with back-up goalkeeper Alex Cisak (who was born in Poland before moving to Australia as a child) the only player in his first-team set-up from outside the British Isles.

But Dyche said the composition of his squad was largely a consequence of the financial situation and the lack of a strong international scouting infrastructure at Turf Moor.

"It’s a coincidence. Like anyone I want to see English and British players doing well and developing to help the national game," said Dyche, who has signed Chelsea youngster Nathaniel Chalobah on loan until January

"But that’s nothing to do with scouting from overseas, we just don’t have an in-depth recruitment department that can do that.

"We’ve built one over the last year and there’s more funding in place to add to that but we’re not ready to go to, say, Europe and scout it in some depth.

"We didn’t want to start take flyers or go on word of mouth, we want to get an in-depth background on players - we have to spend wisely and get the right players in."

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