SEAN Dyche says Burnley will continue to look at the possibility of adding to their squad when the loan window reopens at the weekend.

The Clarets signed Ashley Barnes, left, from Brighton for around £750,000 during January but Dyche admits that they were unable to bring in a couple of loan targets in the final days of the transfer window.

The Football League’s loan window opens on Saturday, however, and does not close until March 27.

Asked how near Burnley were to adding any more players before the transfer window shut, Dyche said: “Not really, not for major signings, well in our world anyway. Major signings for us are different to most.

“We aligned a couple of things, possible loans and things like that, but it’s just a case of being flexible.”

Burnley’s limited budget has meant that they have not been able to pursue many players Dyche has enquired about, but that will not stop him continuing to try to strengthen his squad.

“It’s ongoing, it’s been ongoing all season,” he said.

“We monitor the market, we try and there are some things we try to get done but we can’t afford some.

“Some we’ve aligned well like Barnesy, which was terrific for us.

“Some get away. We’ve been first in first out on many occasions because of the finances.”

The Clarets maintained their automatic promotion challenge with a 3-3 draw at second-placed QPR on Saturday.

Many around the country had started to write off Burnley’s hopes of staying in the race for the top two after recent home draws against Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday.

Dyche understands why that was the case but says his side are continuing to show that they are third in the table on merit.

"I don’t think there is any malice in it," he said of the recent suggestions that Burnley were falling out of automatic promotion contention.

"I think people are just looking the stats and facts, saying, ‘They haven’t spent a lot of money, they’ve got a small squad, they’ve got a small wage bill’.

"But for the neutral who doesn’t know, they don’t always know and define the quality we’ve got and the energy in the team, the framework and organisation we have.

"After eight games, 16 games, however many you want to pick, there are always people saying, ‘Oh, can they stay up there?’.

"We are up there, we’ve deserved to be up there and we’re still up there.

"From Saturday’s performance and the last two, even those three have been draws, it’s quite evident that the players are absolutely giving everything - not just with their energy but with their quality as well."