‘It feels real now’ - Sean Dyche

In a statement to the fans, co-chairmen Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz revealed that ‘new and improved’ contractual terms had been agreed with the 2013/14 LMA Championship Manager of the Year nominee and his staff.

However, the club haven’t confirmed the finer details of Dyche’s amended terms at Turf Moor.

Prior to the announcement, Dyche suggested that preparations for the new campaign had taken precedence over the formality of signing a new deal.

“I’ve always been here,” he said. “There’s never been a problem with my contract. I’m more interested in the players. I didn’t want anything to detract from what we were doing.

“It was my suggestion that we just got on with things because the main importance at the club is the players. I’m here, because that’s part of what I do. My contract is fine - there was never an issue.”

The former Watford boss, who replaced Eddie Howe at the helm in October 2012, faces a baptism of fire in England’s top tier after fixtures paired the Clarets with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea on home soil on the opening day of the season on August 16th.

“It feels real now,” said Dyche. “It’s a tough but very good start for us. Everyone has been waiting for that. With all due respect to the Premier League everyone wants the challenge of playing against the real big guns and Burnley as a town and a club wants those big names coming to Turf Moor. You’ve got to play everyone at some point so why not at the beginning!”

And on the match-up between Dyche – nicknamed the ‘Ginger Mourinho’ – and Stamford Bridge’s ‘Special One’, he added: “The pundits and headline writers will have an easy weekend on that score. They’ll have fun with that. It’s a strange twist of fate after last season, with what the fans were singing about me.”

After the eagerly-anticipated opener, the Clarets will travel to the Liberty Stadium to face 2013 Capital One Cup winners Swansea City on August 23rd while Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United are the visitors to Turf Moor on August 30th.

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