Burnley to be ‘shock troops’ of Premier League

And boss Sean Dyche admits the step up in class won’t come as a surprise to him and his players.

The Clarets kick-off their second top-flight campaign in six seasons at home to Chelsea on Monday night, in front of the Sky Sports Cameras.

Burnley are the only side odds-on with the bookmakers to be relegated, but Dyche insists they are ready and prepared for what lies in store in exalted company.

Dyche has a number of trusted confidantes within and outside the game who he often turns to for advice, but he goes into the season with a good idea what he is up against: “There’s a few people I speak to, I bounce things off a lot of people, prominent people, and people that would surprise you.

“I take a lot of value in the opinion of a couple of business people, I’m young and learning and what to improve myself.

“But the thing about the Premier League is it’s massively exposed.

“We all kind of have a rough handle on it, the runners, the riders, because it’s massive.

“I don’t think there’s a shock to what we’re going into.

“We see the quality, the World Cup players, we know the demand is right up there.”

Monday night will be billed as the real Mourinho, Chelsea’s Jose, against the “Ginger Mourinho” - the nickname given to him by Clarets fans.

But he is eager to downplay any comparisons: “It’s for you all to make headlines, it doesn’t interest me.

“He’s a fantastic manager, he’s achieved at different clubs, he’s world-renowned.

“He’ll want to win, I’ll want to win, it’s just what it is.

“We’ll hopefully have a chat after the game and I’ll pick his brains, but that’s it.

“It’s just two blokes who want their team to win.”

Meanwhile, Burnley have been drawn to face Sheffield Wednesday at home in the second round of the Capital One Cup.

The game will be played in the week commencing August 25th.

The Clarets are one of 13 Premier League clubs enter the competition at this stage, with the remaining seven involved in European competition joining in round three.

Watch Sean Dyche explain how he goes about his transfer business ....