SEAN Dyche insists his side can still get better in possession after shrugging off suggestions he is a manager who plays direct football.

The Burnley boss is adamant his side will continue to be direct when it suits, but said there’s more to their game than just the ability to go long and make it difficult for the opposition.

The Clarets have certainly been pleasing on the eye at times this season and Dyche has no concern about the perception of his style.

Earlier this week pundit Jamie Carragher said the Turf boss had a tag for playing direct football that would put ‘top teams’ off him as manager.

But Dyche insists his only concern is finding a way for Burnley to win.

“Football has to be effective, it’s as simple as that. Working with your group to be effective is my number one priority,” he said.

“After that it’s can we find the right balance for it to be enjoyable for the players and the fans?

“I’ve said it a million times, but I like mixed football because it increases the chances of getting the outcome you want.

“We’ve got to continue to improve with the ball and I think we’re doing that this season, not only to calm the game down and manage the game but also be productive with it.

“But we want to mix that up, we want to be awkward and hard to handle. There has to be a balance to it in our view.

“Somewhere down the line, with a different group, you might look at it differently.”

Dyche used the word ‘pragmatic’ to describe his own style, which has guided Burnley to seventh in the Premier League after 12 games, but he admits that is a word that isn’t always used approvingly in football.

But he believes Clarets fans are certainly enjoying the style of his side, while referencing a comment from Slaven Bilic after West Ham had drawn 1-1 at Turf Moor earlier in the season on how they’ve evolved this term.

“I can only imagine this, but if you ask Burnley fans if they enjoy what we’re doing, I suggest yes they are,” Dyche said.

“In any other business being pragmatic is a golden word. In football it’s ‘oh, he’s a bit pragmatic’. I speak to varying businessman and pragmatic is great, people who build things, move things forward, bring in revenues.

“After the West Ham game Slaven Bilic said ‘you’ve kept the fundamentals of how your team operates, but you’re playing better football in better areas of the pitch’.

“I thought it was a tremendous compliment, because he’s recognised that. We’re not the real deal yet, but we’re trying to move forward. That’s pragmatic.”