‘Youth has to be managed carefully’ - Burnley boss Dyche

Dyche was a trainee at Nottingham Forest before earning a professional contract, but never made the breakthrough at the City Ground under Brian Clough.

Instead he forged a career away from Forest with Chesterfield, Bristol City, Millwall, Watford and Northampton, before returning to Watford as youth team coach - at a club where 50 academy graduates made a first team debut between 1998 and 2012.

Dyche has spoken about the likes of Cameron Howieson and Steven Hewitt facing a big 12 months, saying: “It’s the ones that keep rising to the challenge that make it, so it will be interesting to see how those young men go.”

But he will broaden their first team experience only on merit: “You have to develop as wisely as you can with players.

“There’s often a thirst for young players to play from a fanbase, and then you play them and then they get questioned. That has to be managed wisely - why they’re going in and at what time.

“Some are just naturally ready, they have a maturity to their thinking and are ready on that level. Some are ready on a physical level, some find the nice balance where they’re ready on both levels.”

• The Burnley Express has launched a FREE football app which is now available to download on iPhone and Android devices.