FIVE-POINT PLAN

1 KEEP DWIGHT MCNEIL

You wonder how long the Clarets will be able to hold onto the teen talent, given his amazing second half of the campaign. Having earned a first England Under-20 call-up, he was subsequently invited to train with the senior squad by Gareth Southgate. He’s already been linked with a move to Serie A behemoths Juventus after impressing at the Toulon Tournament.

2 BE BETTER WITH THE BALL

Last season, Burnley averaged 43.4 per cent possession – only Newcastle and Cardiff had less of the ball. The previous season, Dyche had bought Jack Cork to supplement the talents of Steven Defour; October 2017’s 1-0 win at Everton, with Jeff Hendrick finishing a 24-pass move, summed up their intentions. Injury to Defour and Robbie Brady stunted that progression last season. It must return.

3 REGAIN A SOLID DEFENCE

Unusually, Dyched chopped and changed at the back last season: Joe Hart and Tom Heaton in goal, with Phil Bardsley and Matt Lowton at right-back, and Charlie Taylor ousting Stephen Ward (now at Stoke) on the left. They conceded 68 goals – only the bottom three and Bournemouth were leakier – after posting the sixth-best defensive record just a season earlier.

4 FIND A WAY TO GET THE BEST OUT OF MATEJ

VYDRA Having bought Chris Wood in the summer of 2017, Burnley again bolstered their strikeforce last summer by signing the second tier’s top scorer. But the Czech international made only three starts in the league, scoring once, unable to break up the Wood-barnes axis. Can Dyche find a way to harness the free-scoring former Derby forward?

5

STRENGTHEN THE SQUAD

Dyche has to make up significant ground in the transfer market to stay competitive. In January, they arguably weakened the squad by selling Sam Vokes to Stoke, with Peter Crouch coming the other way. The re-signing of homeboy Jay Rodriguez is a welcome corrective, but – with due respect to the incoming Erik Pieters – Dyche and his recruitment team have a way to go yet.