JOEY Barton could feature for Burnley in Saturday’s FA Cup tie at Sunderland but boss Sean Dyche said he has to earn the right to play in the Premier League.

Dyche will make changes for the third round trip to the Stadium of Light and that could mean a second debut for the 34-year-old midfielder.

Barton has signed a deal until the end of the season with the Clarets despite an FA misconduct charge for alleged betting on football hanging over his head.

He was due to respond to that charge today, but has been granted an extension to January 31 to do so, and Dyche said it was an issue that did not involve Burnley.

Of the deal to bring Barton back to Turf Moor, Dyche said: “He came back in because I felt he deserved the respect of coming back in and training with us.

“He's come back in and showed us he wants to be part of it again. There's no guarantee on how much of a part he plays but he's in the pack.”

Barton left Burnley in the summer for Rangers but his time with the Ibrox club came to an abrupt end when his contract was terminated after eight following a training ground row with boss Mark Warburton, and last season’s supporters’ player of the year is now back at Burnley.

“It's a different level of football, he’s got to earn the right to get a game first,” said Dyche.

“He'll be well aware of that. The team is going well enough on its own at the moment but we feel he can be an important part of the squad.

“We know we need a certain depth to the squad and we still haven't got the deepest squad by any means. Certainly not in the Premier League but you do need that depth and you need competition within that group.”

Barton has been charged by the FA with placing 1,260 bets on matches over a 10-year period leading up to May 2016.

“He'll deal with that, it's a separate situation,” said Dyche. “Obviously we're well aware of it but that's personal to him and the powers that be. It's not about us.

“We've come to a mutual agreement with him and his advisors how that would work if anything happens.

“It's something out of our domain. I'm sure he'll speak to me about it in due course but he doesn't need to, it's before he was part of our club again and before he was registered with us.

“It's for him and the powers that be to take that forward.”