Sean Dyche will 'go down in history', says Burnley legend Jimmy Robson

Dyche is on course to become the longest serving Burnley boss since title-winner Harry Potts after signing a new four-and-a-half year deal in January, which would take him through to just short of a decade at the helm.

Since taking over in October 2012 he has taken the Clarets into the Premier League and last season guided them to seventh, the club's highest finish in 44 years.

That was enough to steer Burnley back into Europe for the first time in over half a century and Robson, who played under Potts, can see similarities between the two as Dyche continues to make his mark in East Lancashire.

"He's done great. It sounds like there were opportunities to move recently but he's turned them down. It suits him being at Burnley and it also suits the team as well having him in charge," said Robson, who was part of the title-winning side under Potts.

"I think he'll go down in history. Harry [Potts] was very unassuming, he just got on with the job and he did it well for Burnley while I was there. Sean is the same, he's very well respected by the players and he plays in a way that he wants them to play."

Dyche has taken charge of 259 Burnley games in his time at the club, but he has some way to go to catch Potts, who was in charge for 12 years between 1958 and 1970 and then returned for a brief spell between 1977 and 1979, managing 728 games in the process.

But Robson believes both men have the respect of their players, which is a crucial weapon for them.

"They are two men who the players look up to. Harry Potts was the same, sometimes we called him 'Pottsy', but that was behind his back," he said.

Robson was part of the first Burnley side to play in Europe, scoring three times in the European Cup campaign on 1960/61.

This is just the Clarets third European run and they will begin it with a Europa League second qualifying round tie against Scottish Premiership runners-up Aberdeen.

But Robson believes some of the sides outside of these shores could underestimate if the Clarets if they progress past the Dons.

“I think some of the foreign teams might underestimate Burnley, they’ve got a way of playing, home or away, they just get on with it," he said.

“They’re a bit more direct, they’re good defensively. Look at what Man City have spent and what Burnley have spent, they got a draw against City and there’s a big difference in what they’ve spent.

“I think Burnley will set their stall out, they won’t play the way we played, we hadn’t a clue when we got into Europe, we played the same home and away.

“Now football has got to the stage where you realise what is at stake and set your stall out.

“There’s a lot more European football on TV, you know what to expect now. You have to be patient, we were a bit gung ho, we just went for it.

"Burnley have done really well. You only played in the European Cup if you won the league in my days, it can go all the way down to seventh place now. But Burnley have done well, they deserve to be where they are and they deserve to be in Europe."