Dyche happy with strikers '“ but could add to options

With Sam Vokes, Jonathan Walters, Ashley Barnes and record signing Chris Wood all playing a part in recent weeks, the Burnley boss confirmed that he’s more than happy with the options available to him.

However, Dyche remains active in the market and continues to stress that the club is still trying to push a couple of situations.

One of those is Lorient forward Abdul Majid Waris, with the French media reporting that the 25-year-old is close to completing an £8m move to the Premier League.

The move for former BK Häcken, Spartak Moscow, Valenciennes and Trabzonspor man, who experienced relegation from Ligue 1 last season, is believed to have been delayed with the necessary paperwork awaiting ratification.

With the player’s native Ghana currently 50th in the FIFA world rankings, Majeed Waris has to have played 75% and above of their internationals over the last two years under the FA’s work permit regulations.

That isn’t the case, so Burnley would have to go to an exceptions panel, who would consider the player’s experience and value, to decide whether the player can still be allowed to join the club.

Meanwhile, Dyche was pleased to see his striker’s union affect the game against Spurs at Wembley as the club’s newest acquisition Wood got off the mark on his league debut.

The former Leeds United striker slotted Robbie Brady’s wonderfully incisive pass beyond Hugo Lloris in stoppage time at Wembley to register his first Premier League goal in 1,107 days.

Dyche said: “I am pleased for Woody who has come into a good group and is enjoying it.

“I must say it was a fantastic pass from Robbie Brady who had already put one through for Chris Wood and their keeper did brilliant to come out and smother it with a great tackle, a good old fashioned tackle actually which I was pleased to see.

“After that for Robbie to find that pass was sublime and it was a fantastic finish. He struck it so cleanly that a fantastic keeper like Lloris has ended up standing there watching it go in.

“As the game wore on we were deserving of it. They had control of the first half, everyone knows that, but it was tough coming down here.

“Overall if you look at it on the balance of play I think we just about deserved something today so I was pleased for the players and their efforts.”

Wood was introduced alongside Barnes just before the hour and the Turf Moor chief was happy with the way that his substitutions altered the balance of play.

“When you make substitutions, I have always made it clear, it is not a 100 per cent thing, you think it will affect the game because of your staff and how you process the game and it is not a guaranteed science,” said Dyche, who also introduced Ashley Westwood.

“I thought today the subs really made a difference, other games the substitutions don’t make a difference but today they did.

“We had to get back on the front foot quite obviously. i thought we were just about doing that but I just thought we needed something different to affect the game.

“It wasn’t because the players coming off weren’t doing a good job, I just thought we needed a different job.

“I was really pleased with how they affected the game because it definitely had an affect. They changed their shape slightly as well.”Dyche continued: “Woody got on an started stretching the pitch even though he was offside a couple of times he put doubt in their minds, opened up the pitch and I thought we played into the pockets very well after that.

“We got into very good crossing positions. We nearly scored before that with a great bit of play down the left from Wardy and then we got a fine goal I thought.

“He has had a chance before that, he has a little headed chance and a maybe when it is pulled back and he’s just about got something on it and then a striker’s chance coming across in front of goal and can you finish it?

“I think he has got an ability to score different kinds of goals and that is a tremendous thing to have and he will feel much better for getting his first goal of course.

“I thought Barnesy played his part and I thought Vokesy ran ever so hard and affected the game. I like the strikers we work with.

“I want a team that can be effective in many different ways. Sometimes it is a tactical game, sometimes you have to play great football and sometimes it is blood and guts.”