'I don't expect Sean to be frustrated' - new Burnley chairman Alan Pace on backing Dyche in the transfer market
Dyche has voiced his belief for a number of years now that the club have needed to "stretch and not break" their business model, with the fear that the market "will probably outrun you at some point."
He could scarcely hide his feels after Project Restart, when contract situations were not dealt with, leading to Jeff Hendrick leaving and Phil Bardsley being released, before being re-signed.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAnd in the summer, his only outfield signing was Brighton midfielder Dale Stephens for just over £1m.
But, after ALK Capital's takeover of the club was confirmed last last Wednesday, Pace outlined his priorities - “Short term, we stay in the Premier League and do a really good job in this window. Longer term, we want to be Britain’s favourite underdog team.”
And he is eager to back the manager in the January window, and further down the line.
Asked about Dyche's frustration with the previous board at times, Pace said: “I don’t expect Sean to be frustrated. I can answer that directly.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"I hope he will be pleased with the way we can support him and interact with him, and that will be our efforts on a constant basis.
“He does have some things he’s looking at. We’ll support him in what he’s looking at and if he wants to go forward, we will be there to support him.”
ALK have invested in talent identification tool AiScout and Player Lens, which support leading professional clubs with their scouting, recruitment and transfer dealings.
While analytics is a growing part of the scouting and transfer business in football, and Pace expects it to advance further, that approach won't immediately come into play: “Nothing will deviate from how we do things currently. You will see us get more involved on the analytical side. It will evolve further.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHaving had to wait until he got the keys from Mike Garlick, as such, to speak to Dyche, Pace was delighted with how his first meeting went: "I thought it went well. I’ve been looking forward to it for quite some time.
“I would say that as far as things changing, I don’t think anything changes other than he knows that I am a big supporter.
“We like consistency, we like longevity and we see what an amazing manager he is and leader and leadership is really important to us.”
And as regards Dyche's longevity, Pace was asked about whether he would want him to remain beyond his contract, which runs until the summer of 2022: “That’s absolutely fair and it’s up to him about that, but yes.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdPace, who has already impressed fans with his interactions on twitter, isn't the first American owner of a Premier League club, and there have been some mixed results.
Pace spoke of why he and ALK are different: “The main reason is I don’t think you have ever seen anyone like me and you certainly haven’t seen someone like me come in and run a football club and live in the community.
“I think you’re going to have a level of interaction if you’re a fan and you’re local which will be very different.
"We honestly do mean it when we say we are concerned about the long-term financial viability of this club if we were a family member. So we’re not going to do stupid stuff. We may say silly things, but we believe we are going to act differently.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdALK bought the club with Burnley five points clear of the relegation zone, but do they need the club to stay in the top flight moving forward?: “It’s important, but not essential. It’s important because you have over a billion people see you and interact with you when you’re in the Premier League.
“You want to be on that stage. It's like being an actor. It’s important, but it doesn’t mean you can’t make an artsy movie sometime.”
Of some concern to some supporters was a loan structure deal registered at Companies House allowing ALK to borrow from MSD Holdings using Turf Moor as security.
MSD is owned by Austin-based tech billionaire, Michael Dell.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdPace explained: “I do believe there is a way to be financially responsible in your dealings which is sustainable.
“The loans involved in this transaction are reasonable and absolutely in line with what can be supported by this club, and will not take away from the ability to operate on a daily basis.”
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.