SEAN Dyche says his ‘one game at a time’ mantra will have more meaning than ever in the Premier League.

The Clarets adopted the manager’s phrase last season as the possibility of promotion started to look a reality.

And similarly now, as Turf Moor prepares to launch into a new Premier League season, the message remains the same.

For captain Jason Shackell and the rest of the players, such continuity is a positive as the club prepares for a new adventure.

“The gaffer, as soon as he came in, brought stability. He likes to make sure that everybody knows their roles,” said the skipper.

“A lot of the players are the same as last year so everybody knows their place in the team and what he expects from them.

“That’s always nice as a player.”

Promotion hasn’t changed him, or his mindset.

“He’s been pretty similar,” said Shackell. “He works us hard, he worked us hard over pre-season.

“He sticks to a lot of the philosophies we used last year so nothing’s really changed.

“Obviously we know we’re going to have to be bang at it game in, game out to make sure we’re ready and competing and trying to get a few good results.”

But it is not just their physicality that Dyche has focused on, their mentality has had a work-out too with the help of psychologist Simon Clarkson.

An occasional guest at their Gawthorpe training base last season and this summer, he has helped Burnley prepare themselves to cope with a different win ratio this season compared to last.

“We have a guy in, Simon, that gives us the odd talk and he’s been excellent,” said Shackell. “He doesn’t come in too regularly but when he does he delivers a little presentation with quite powerful messages and I think the lads buy into everything he’s done.

“There are key messages but he thinks a little bit outside the box.

“Tthe message is we’re not going to get it all our own way like we did last year, but it’s about not getting too low with the lows and not getting too high with the highs.”

But dealing with the doom-mongers, who have made Burnley favourites for the drop, is not an area which Clarkson has had to concentrate on.

“I really don’t think we look into it as much as the people outside do,” said Shackell, 30.

“Last season people were making us huge underdogs but that brings a certain freedom and freedom can be a powerful thing.”

That first game, against Chelsea at Turf Moor tonight, pits Shackell and co against one of the most expensively assembled teams in the world. But, as well as personal pride, Shackell gets a kick out of proving people wrong.

“When people are doubting you and you can prove them wrong along the way then that’s a great bonus,” he said.

“Our focus will be starting against Chelsea, doing what we do well, working hard, and then just see where that takes us.

“People will give everything for each other in this team.

“That’s what our success was built on last year and that’s something we need to try to build on again this year to hopefully get some good results.”