Burnley boss Sean Dyche on his first meeting with new chairman Alan Pace

Back in 1983, Edwyn Collins, with his band Orange Juice, famously sang: “Rip it up and start again...”
Alan PaceAlan Pace
Alan Pace

But that won’t be the case at Turf Moor, after ALK Capital’s takeover of Burnley Football Club.

Clarets boss Sean Dyche is delighted he and new chairman Alan Pace appear in alignment, believing if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

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Both have spoken of ‘evolution, not revolution’, and after a first meeting, albeit on Zoom in the current circumstances, Dyche spoke of his initial impressions: “As a person, I don't know yet,,but he seems an affable fella and open minded.

“He seems to want to give us the freedom to work and operate while still understanding

“I don't think the idea is to rip it up and start again.

“I think the idea is to really get their teeth into what's here, and then how many different ways can they move it forward both on and off the pitch.

“That is their view and thinking, while beginning to learn and understand the fabric of the club and the feel of the area and the people.

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“They are moving into the area and getting into what the club is.”

It’s fair to say there had been some crossed wires, certainly as regards transfers, under outgoing chairman Mike Garlick, and Pace is determined to listen, to his manager, and the fans.

Dyche said: “There are in house changes. Viewpoints are shared, the open environment they want us to work with, the open exchange of information. They are things that have begun to show themselves.

“The obvious changes to the outside world is money being put in, are we signing players, are we building stands.

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“That is the obvious outside view but there is plenty of dialogue between us, not just me and Alan but the people involved in purchasing the club and the other key members around the club whether it be Mike Rigg, Neil Hart, Matt Williams.

”There's a lot of people involved in this starting process of working each other out, working what the club is and working what they want from it going forwards.”

In Dyche’s first managerial post at Watford, he lost his job after the Pozzo family takeover, as they brought In Gianfranco Zola to replace him, despite enjoying the Hornets’ best season in four years.

That was never going to be the case at Burnley, with ALK considering him the jewel in the crown at the club.

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Dyche admits it is good to be wanted: "They've got to get used to me, how I operate, if they think that's appropriate, likewise me with them.

"At this stage I think we're getting on with the team, I think that's the main focus. The window's coming - what could be a very important window, depending - so we're getting on with that side of things.

"The new owners have come in, it's always nice if they think you're doing a good job, quite obviously.

”I've been on the other side of that where - I'll never know - but I don't think the owners of Watford who came in didn't think I was necessarily doing a bad job, they just wanted their version of me.

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”These people have made it clear, at this stage anyway, they don't want their version of me, they just want me, so that's pleasing in that respect because I've been on the other side of that at Watford of course.

“Whether things change greatly in the future under the new owners, let’s wait and see. And that includes myself.

”There’s been talk about me being here long term, but I’ve got 18 months on my contract, so it’s very early to be worrying about that.”

Pace has said it is up to Dyche essentially how long he stays at the club, but both are in agreement to get the January transfer window out of the way before looking at his contract, which runs to the summer of 2022: “I’m not thinking about it, and I’m sure they’re not.

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”We’re all thinking about the playing squad, looking after the players that we want to keep, making sure we're keyed into the next level of players we can bring in.

”And beyond that there’s the bigger picture of the football club and how it can moved forward.”

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