Dyche will still toast vintage

RARELY have two clubs had such different attitudes to Europa League football.

For Chelsea, it would be the booby prize and must be avoided at all costs. Yet Burnley and their fans could not be more excited and for them it would be an incredible achievement to crown their best season in 44 years.

Last night, despite defeat, it was good practice as the Clarets had their first taste of the testing Europa League schedule of Thursday-sunday football.

And Sean Dyche and his players found it is far removed from the comfortable Saturdaysaturday routine they have been used to in the Premier League.

Dyche can pick the same starting XI each week because he knows the seven-day break gives his players ample time to recover and he named an unchanged side against Chelsea.

He would have to ditch that policy in Europe because of the extra games and travelling. The Burnley boss would need to introduce a rotation policy and significantly add to his squad.

Managing such an influx of players could be challenging, especially because Dyche has created such a musketeer team spirit at Turf Moor. He doesn’t do Big-time Charlies and is only interested in team players.

Europe can also distract teams from the bread and butter of the Premier League, as Leicester found out last season and Everton this.

Yet Dyche refuses to see any negative in qualifying for Europe because he knows this could be a once-in-a-generation moment for the Clarets.