BURNLEY captain Ben Mee believes the whole town has felt the benefit of Sean Dyche’s time in charge at Turf Moor.

The Clarets boss hits seven years in charge today, Mee having been at the club through his entire tenure, signed by Eddie Howe initially on loan back in July 2011.

With impressive progress made both on and off the field during the manager’s spell at the helm, the defender believes his impact goes further than simply the football club progressing in terms of results and league positions.

Dyche has overseen a first taste of European football in 51 years with the Clarets now in their fourth straight season in the Premier League.

There have also been major developments at the training ground as well as other infrastructure improvements.

“I’ve been asked about this a lot,” Mee said when asked about his manager’s time in charge.

“You can see it around the club, around the training ground, the fact we’ve been able to do this is down to the success we’ve had over the past few years.

“That success on the pitch has rubbed off, it reverberates around the whole town with how well this club has done and everybody benefits from it.”

Rewinding back to Dyche’s arrival back in October 2012, Mee admits he made an immediate first impression on the Burnley squad.

His got his ideas in place as the Clarets finished 11th in the Championship the following May, before masterminding promotion to the top flight 12 months later, finishing second behind Leicester.

“I remember the first team meeting we had with him,” Mee said.

“It was all really positive, you could see that he had a plan and a good mindset, which he wanted to rub off on the lads.

“There was a positivity, professionalism, the way he wanted people to work and I think he had a vision for how he wanted things to go.

“It took half-a-season to get right, but once he’d had a pre-season, and we knew what he was about, it all just fit in to place.

“From that first season we went on from there.

“There was nothing major, it was just his style and the way he wanted to get things across.

“He was very direct and I think the lads took to it really well and took everything on board, which we still do today.”

Dyche’s arrival meant Mee had a central defender as a manager and the pair have enjoyed the Clarets’ rise together with the skipper, now 30, unlucky in many people’s eyes not to be an England international.

“There’s definitely improvement, I’ve had that experience, he’s given me the time to grow as a player, to develop as a player, which has been a really big help for me,” said the former Manchester City man.

“I’ve played a lot of games. He’s put a lot of trust in me.

“That experience of playing games and being competitive in every season we’ve had, having that different pressure and environment, it all bodes well for my future.”