January a tough window regardless of how much money you have, says Sean Dyche

Burnley boss Sean Dyche has stressed January is a tough transfer window “whether you have got money or not”.

The Clarets have new owners following the completion of the takeover of the club on New Year’s Eve by the Delaware-based ALK Capital investment group.

Shortly after the completion, new chairman Alan Pace said: “We are fully prepared to back the manager.”

When Dyche was asked ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie against MK Dons about his expectations in terms of bringing players in this month, he said: “Nothing has changed from my words from before the window and before the takeover – that January is a very tough window.

“Not many want to lose their players. It is always a tough window whether you have got money or not.

“We will wait and see. There’s a couple of things we talked about and possible options, so we will wait and see, but I’m not banking on it, I’m just maybe looking at it – doing our homework, being diligent and seeing if the moment can arise when we can do something.”

Pace and Dyche have had a meeting, which the chairman said he thought “went well”.

Giving his take, Dyche said: “We had a good chat on a Zoom call, a very open, honest discussion and debate over what we think is appropriate.

“I don’t think there’s too many things that are beyond the norms of the right running of the club. I don’t get the impression that it’s just going to be throw money everywhere, although I think there will be some finance to possibly use going forwards.

“I think the idea, or the impression I get, and it’s a strong impression, is to build on the good work that has been done, to continue the building process and not try to cheat the system just by throwing money at it everywhere. But we’ll see, we’ll see what finance becomes available.”

Dyche said Pace “seems an affable fella, seems open-minded” and added: “I don’t think their idea is 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 they can move it forward both on and off the pitch.

“I think that’s their view and thinking, while beginning and learning to understand the fabric of the club and the feel of the area and the people.

“It’s not massive change at the moment. It’s hard to instigate big change. Massive changes in the future? Well, let’s wait and see, including myself.

“I have 18 months to go on my contract and it is very early in the new ownership to even worry about that, so I am not and I am sure they are not.

“They are looking at the instant moment in time, which is the playing squad, making sure we look after the players we want to keep, making sure we are aligning the next level of player we can bring in, etc.

“Beyond that, of course there will be discussions on the bigger picture of the football club and how that moves forward.

“They are not naive, they know the immediacy is the next window, what the team is actively doing at this stage, and even the consideration of Covid and how that could affect our squad. There’s a lot in the melting pot at the moment.”