Burnley’s new owners officially took charge of the club with a ringing endorsement for manager Sean Dyche and the guarantee of cash for the January transfer window.
Protracted talks for the Clarets concluded late on Wednesday with US investment company ALK Capital buying a controlling 84 per cent stake in the club in a deal believed to be worth £200m.
Dyche has been kept in the dark over the talks, which dragged on for several months and meant he was unable to strengthen his squad in the summer window.
But incoming chairman Alan Pace, a Wall Street executive and managing partner of ALK Capital, wasted no time in offering his public backing for Dyche, who has been in charge at Turf Moor for over eight years.
Pace said: “We have been very, very big fans of Sean for some time. The longevity and stability on the management side is something that has been very impactful, from our perspective – the playing style and the ability to perform at the level they have.
“So we’re very big fans of Sean and we are very prepared to come in and support Sean and the management team.
“We need time to get in and understand what their needs are, what they have been planning for, what the decisions are that they have taken so far and where they are desiring to get to.
“But we are fully prepared to back the manager.”
A run of three wins and a draw from the last five league games has dramatically improved Burnley’s league position and a win over Fulham on Sunday – should that fixture go ahead following a Covid outbreak in Scott Parker’s squad – would lift them eight points above relegation.
The form book points to Burnley securing safety and a sixth successive season of top-flight football, a run the club has not enjoyed since a 24-year spell in the top division came to an end in 1971.
Dyche has been frustrated for some time at his lack of resources to strengthen a paper-thin squad under former chairman Mike Garlick, who will remain as a director along with his business partner and former majority shareholder John Banaszkiewicz.
But the Burnley manager admits there is no guarantee he will want to spend in the new window with Dyche focusing more on avoiding the sort of injury list that crippled his side earlier in the current campaign.
He said: “We’re looking into what we do, what the medics do, the players, days, different times and schedules, maybe operating slightly differently for the players.
“If there are things in the market we think we can align, okay, if there’s not, which has often been the case because of finance, we’ll keep operating with the group we’ve got and make sure we get them all fit.
“If you have money available, you can only spend it if players are available, and if they are the right players, it’s worth it. If they’re not, I’ve never seen the point.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3n27xwW
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