SEAN Dyche said Burnley's week-long training camp in Ireland signals the start of pre-season.

While most of the Clarets squad reported, minus those who have been on international duty over the summer, reported back at Gawthorpe last week for a couple of days of physical testing, this week at Carton House is the start of the work on the training pitch.

After arriving at their camp around 15 miles outside Dublin at 4pm on Monday Dyche set his players straight to work with a light session on Monday evening, before the double sessions begin today.

The facilities at Carton House have proved a big drawer in recent years, having been used by some of Europe's biggest sides during the summer, as well as the British and Irish Lions recently, who spent a week here in May ahead of their tour of New Zealand.

And Dyche is delighted with the setting, having spent a week in Evian-les-Bains, on the shores of Lake Geneva, for the past two pre-seasons.

"We’d heard good things about this place, because of the number of teams who have used the facility down the years, including the Six Nations teams and, recently, the British Lions," the Clarets chief said.

"It’s a slight change because we’d been to Evian for a couple of years, which served us well, and this was just to freshen up the thinking a little and give the players something different.

"It’s a lovely setting for teams, that’s for sure, and really this is the start of pre-season."

Dyche has now been reunited with a full squad, with Tom Heaton, Sam Vokes, Kevin Long, Stephen Ward, Jeff Hendrick and Robbie Brady enjoying a slightly extended break, while new boy Jon Walters joined his teammates for the first time on Monday.

Walters and left-back Charlie Taylor are the only new faces so far, and Dyche believes the fact most of his squad know what is expected of them in pre-season is a bonus.

"We came in a couple of days last week, just to set the testing levels," he said.

"We know how fit our players have been down the years with us and they know what to expect in pre-season, so the depth of knowledge serves us well.

"Monday was about bedding them in and then we will start to build it up from Tuesday and in the coming weeks."

The training camp ends with the first friendly of the summer, against Shamrock Rovers at the Tallaght Stadium on Friday (7pm), but Dyche stressed staying clear of injury is essential for now.

"At this stage, staying injury free is a big thing and we’ve reminded the players of that," he said.

"The demands are there, but we trust this group when they tell us how they are feeling, but equally we do push them to make sure their bodies are strong."