BILLY Hamilton has hailed the job done by Sean Dyche since he took over at Burnley as a ‘miracle’.

The former Clarets striker, who scored 76 times in 248 games during a five-year spell at Turf Moor, still keeps a close eye on his former club from the trophy and engraving shop he owns in the town of Bangor in County Down.

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And he is stunned that Dyche has managed to get Burnley back in the Premier League at such an early point in his tenure.

“I am amazed at the job Sean Dyche has done there,” said Hamilton, “getting them promoted with the squad he had was nothing short of a miracle, and if he keeps them in the Premier League it will be an ever bigger miracle.

“They might be a yo-yo team for a while but there is no shame in that and it gives you the resources to strengthen.

“At the moment they haven’t got the financial clout to go out and get the players of quality in enough positions they need to stay in the Premier League.

“The squad looks very tight though and they give 100 per cent every time they play.”

Hamilton was a fans favourite after joining Burnley in November 1979 and he is urging the supporters to enjoy the top flight experience this season, however it turns out.

A penchant for celebrating goals in front of the fans and a physical style of play earned Hamilton plenty of adulation from the Longside during his time at the club.

“The fans should just enjoy the Premier League,” he said, “it is an incredible achievement and they should enjoy every minute of the experience. The club are punching well above their weight at the moment.”

Hamilton joined Burnley after a disappointing time at Queens Park Rangers, but he quickly showed what he could do as a robust centre forward.

He might have been a very different type of striker to Danny Ings, but he has no doubts about the quality of the England Under 21 international, who scored twice for the Young Lions at Turf Moor last week as they beat Portugal 3-1.

Unfortunately Hamilton thinks the 22-year-old could ultimately prove to be too good for the Clarets.

“Sadly I don’t think he will be at Burnley too long,” said the 57-year-old.

“It has always been the way that players develop at Burnley and improve and then move on when they have outgrown the club.

“He is a fantastic striker and he can score goals, he is good enough for the Premier League.”

Hamilton had been at Turf Moor for two and a half seasons when he jetted off to Spain with Billy Bingham’s Northern Ireland squad for the 1982 World Cup.

He had spent the season helping Burnley win what was then the Third Division, but swapped the lower reaches of English league football for a summer on the world stage as the Green and White Army caused one of the biggest shocks international football had ever known when they beat the hosts 1-0 in Valencia.

Hamilton scored twice during the tournament and helped Northern Ireland qualify for Mexico ‘86 four years later, but they haven’t come close to qualifying for a major tournament since.

But under the guidance of Michael O’Neill they have risen to second in Group F after winning their first three games, before losing in Romania on Friday night.

Hamilton, who scored five times in 41 caps for his country, is now a summariser on radio in Northern Ireland and believes the current crop has plenty in common with the 1982 side.

“We have had a fantastic start,” he said, “I cover the games for radio in Northern Ireland and they have got a great spirit.

“They remind me of the 1982 side, there is a great understanding between each other, they know their game plan of what to do and they are hard to beat away from home.

“They have had three good wins and they are in a great position, all the other teams in that group will be taking points from each other. I would be very, very disappointed if they don’t qualify from here.”

With the top two qualifying automatically for Euro 2016 in France O’Neill’s side are well placed to qualify for the European Championships for the first time in their history, and Hamilton believes the previously unheralded manager deserves to take the credit for their remarkable turnaround, after they had won just one of 10 qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.

“It will be a magnificent achievement if they qualify,” he said.

“They might have changed qualification so that it is a bit easier but it was about time it changed. It creates more excitement for more countries and keeps you involved right until the very end, you could have five teams in with a chance right until the end, where previously after a few games you had no chance of qualification and the games became meaningless.

“I think Michael O’Neil has done a brilliant job, it has taken a while, he has got a young squad and they have gelled together, Michael is getting the best out of them.

“You have to give credit to the IFA as well, they stuck by him and agreed to give him time and it has worked out for the best.”