BURNLEY’S academy chief Jonathan Pepper admits Burnley’s Premier League success makes it harder for players to graduate to the Clarets first team.

Sean Dyche’s side are enjoying a second season in the last three in the top flight, having won the Championship title last season, and Pepper is aware that means the quality of player required to make the grade at Turf Moor will go up as well.

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This season 18-year-old Aiden O’Neill has made two Premier League appearances off the bench, highlighting that the pathway is there for promising youngsters.

But there is limited opportunity to blood academy graduates in the Premier League due to the demand and pressure on results, and Pepper knows that means players have to be ready when they make the jump.

“The longer we stay in the Premier League probably the harder it becomes,” he said. “The first team need the ready-made article, there’s a lot of pressure to stay in that league.

“You only see the teams they’re coming up against, the likes of Arsenal, nearly the whole team is made up of internationals.

“It’s a bigger challenge in the Premier League. It’s not going to be easy. Everyone across the country is facing that at the moment at Premier League clubs.”

Pepper also highlights the example of Sunday’s opponents Southampton, who have managed to establish themselves as a top-half Premier League club while also keeping a supply line of talented youngsters coming through.

But he also understands why some bosses are reluctant to turn to the academy in this era.

“The people involved in academies are finding it increasingly difficult, even though there are good players in the system,” he said.

“Managers are changing so quickly as well, they’re under so much pressure so to put a young player in is a risk, I understand that, so it’s becoming harder, but it’s possible. You only have to look at Southampton in recent years, Manchester United have had 14 debuts in the last two years from the academy, so it is possible and that’s what we have to hang on to.”

Pepper has been in his post as academy manager for over a month now and he is full of praise for the support offered down the chain by Dyche.

The Clarets chief was a youth coach at Watford so has experience of trying to get academy stars ready for first team action.

“He’s been very supportive since I came in. He doesn’t want to rule what we do, he wants to support what we do,” said Pepper.

“I think it’s really good that the first team have quite a clear way of working and a clear playing style, that helps give us a bit of direction when we’re working with players.

“It’s difficult for clubs who have a change in manager so often, they bring in different styles and concepts. The manager has been here for a good period of time and we can see how the manager works and how we need to develop a player here at Burnley.”