ANDRE Gray isn’t guaranteed a return to the Burnley side for Saturday’s trip to Old Trafford as Sean Dyche insists the Clarets will continue to operate with tactical flexibility.

Last season’s top scorer is available again this weekend with his four-game ban coming to an end, giving Dyche a decision to make over how he sets his team up against Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Gray has been prolific for Burnley since his £6million move from Brentford, but in his absence the Clarets have won twice, against Watford and Everton, and were seconds away from a draw with Arsenal.

Dyche admits he remains a fan of the 4-4-2 system which he has used so regularly over the past three seasons, but he’s also been pleased with the way his side have performed with a three-man midfield in recent weeks.

“We’ve enjoyed the way we’ve looked,” he said.

“A lot of people think I changed it because of his (Gray’s) absence, I changed it at Leicester before he was absent, I felt the team needs to be flexible in its planning.

“I’ve been pleased with the 4-4-1-1 but there is still scope to change it back, I do like playing with two centre forwards but it’s nice to know we do have that flexibility when we need it.”

Sam Vokes has scored twice while Gray has been on the sidelines, taking his tally to the season for three, and if Dyche does persist with only one up front he will face a dilemma over which striker to start.

The performances of Scott Arfield and Michael Kightly in the win over Everton have also highlighted the increased depth of Dyche’s squad, but he believes his players are still learning about the Premier League.

“We’ve got to continue to deliver tactical frameworks. Tactically we were solid and that’s an important factor going forwards,” said the Clarets chief.

“We are still learning, we are not in a position to buy success, the club’s ran fantastically well here, we have to develop success and it’s a different animal when you do that.

“There are a few bumps in the road as we saw last week (at Southampton) compared to this week.”

Of those players who came in for the injured Steven Defour and George Boyd, Dyche added: “You want players to come in and play with a bit of freedom, I thought we did it from a good framework, the organisation was good.

“My job is to look through results sometimes. Not at Southampton, we were way off it, but the Leicester game, we were right in the game. It’s four minutes of madness, not an overall bad performance. Picking those bits out, reminding the players what we need to improve on but certainly not taking away the demand of the group.”