BURNLEY boss Sean Dyche believes his side faces a tougher task to escape this season’s Championship than in their promotion season of 2013-14.

Dyche, whose name is still linked with the vacant Sunderland manager’s job, believes the division is more competitive than ever before thanks to more clubs splashing the cash.

The sixth-placed Clarets have made a strong start to the season and are one of four clubs locked together on 18 points after the opening 10 games.

And Dyche believes there are more powerful clubs in the second tier than ever before, which has made the league more challenging.

Asked about how tight the top of the division is, Dyche said: “I think it just suggests the nature of the Championship – not every year but there are a lot more challenges this year. It’s been slightly different in my experience of the Championship. We’ve come out of the Premier League and five or six years ago you’d be the main powerful club – along with the other two of course - because you’d just been in the top flight.

“It’s changed. We’re not the biggest spenders, we haven’t got the biggest wage bill, we’re not the power if you like regarding the off the pitch side of things.

“We still think we’re productive on the pitch and we believe we can be even more productive as we go forwards.”

Brighton remain unbeaten in the Championship, and they have drawn four times, while every side in the league has tasted victory so far.

And Dyche believes every club in the league is now looking to spend money to try and reach the promised land of the Premier League.

“It’s all changed and the demand now is across the division,” said the Burnley boss.

“You always measure it by spending, although it’s not just about that, but it gives people sometimes the upper hand to build squads and depth of squads and that kind of thinking.

“That’s been a big shift in the market over the last five years and beyond, and certainly over the summer.

“Some of the loan fees paid by some of the Championship sides are unbelievable. Some deals that didn’t go through but I’m told were real attempts at deals were massive money.

“We’ve tried ourselves.

“I’m always saying I’m ready to spend and we’ve been spending and we’ve been trying hard to spend. Maybe the anomaly is we’re bringing in a lot as well to make sure the club is balanced for the future as well.

“Through all of that, you’ve still got to win games and you’ve got to win a lot of them.”