DYCHE FAVOURS GENERATION GAME, AS KIDS ARE TOO COSTLY

West Ham v Burnley 6pm BY DAVID ANDERSON

SEAN DYCHE claims it is too expensive to add younger players to his ageing squad.

The Burnley manager’s last starting line-up, against Sheffield United, had an average age of 28, with four players aged 30 or over.

Dyche said: “It’s a simple situation: very good players who are young cost money. Unless you can bring them through your system, like Dwight McNeil – and Jay Rodriguez back in the day – then it costs a lot of money.

“If you want a more recognised player – older but more experienced – usually they are cheaper.

“If you want the same quality of younger player, they are more expensive. It’s not rocket science.”

But Dyche (right) says the older hands create a good atmosphere for players like McNeil and Josh Brownhill.

He said: “They need good players around them and we have good players here, regardless of age profiles.”

West Ham boss David Moyes admits the Hammers are in a worse position now than before their infamous clash with Burnley in his first spell in charge in March 2018, when fans invaded the pitch during a 3-0 defeat at the London Stadium.

He said: “The club has spent a lot of money on improving the squad, but it’s not much different. In fact you could argue the position now is more difficult. But the Burnley game inspired the players. We turned a negative into a positive.”

WEST HAM:

Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Fornals, Lanzini, Antonio.

BURNLEY: Pope, Bardsley, Tarkowski, Long, Taylor, Pieters, Brownhill, Westwood, McNeil, Rodriguez, Vydra.