NEW Burnley chairman Alan Pace has made no secret of his admiration for Sean Dyche.

The 49-year-old was a key factor in ALK Capital pinpointing Burnley as the club they wanted to invest in.

While this is the first time Burnley have experienced a takeover in the club's long and proud history, this is not new territory for the Clarets boss.

Having been a 'casualty' at Watford, when the Pozzo family brought in Gianfranco Zola as his replacement, despite the Hornets enjoying their best season in four years, Dyche is pleased to be considered a crux.

"The new owners have come in, it's always nice if they think you're doing a good job, quite obviously," he said.

"I've been on the other side of that where - I'll never know - but I don't think the owners of Watford who came in didn't think I was necessarily doing a bad job, they just wanted their version of me.

"These people have made it clear, at this stage anyway, they don't want their version of me, they just want me, so that's pleasing in that respect because I've been on the other side of that at Watford of course.

“Whether things change greatly in the future under the new owners, let’s wait and see. And that includes myself.

"There’s been talk about me being here long term, but I’ve got 18 months on my contract, so it’s very early to be worrying about that.”

Dyche is not anticipating radical changes on any level in these early stages - be it recruitment or redevelopment - more a sense that there is a solid platform to be built on.

Communication has been encouraging, although being back in lockdown as a nation means that nothing is straightforward and their first face to face meeting must wait. For now, discussions will be held over the phone or on Zoom. Nevertheless, Dyche has been briefed about the vision and ambition.

“I don't think the idea is to rip it up and start again. I think the idea is to really get their teeth into what's here, and then how many different ways can they move it forward both on and off the pitch," he said.

“That is their view and thinking, while beginning to learn and understand the fabric of the club and the feel of the area and the people.

“They are moving into the area and getting into what the club is.”

And Dyche said that, just over a week into their tenure, the ball is already rolling.

“There are in house changes. Viewpoints are shared, the open environment they want us to work with, the open exchange of information. They are things that have begun to show themselves," he said.

“The obvious changes to the outside world is money being put in, are we signing players, are we building stands?

“That is the obvious outside view but there is plenty of dialogue between us, not just me and Alan but the people involved in purchasing the club and the other key members around the club whether it be Mike Rigg, Neil Hart, Matt Williams.

"There's a lot of people involved in this starting process of working each other out, working what the club is and working what they want from it going forwards.”

Dyche's contract, which has 18 months remaining, could be one of the early items on the agenda. But in the January transfer window the Burnley boss insists the priority must be with the players.

“I’m not thinking about it, and I’m sure they’re not," he said of his contract, which expires in the summer of 2022.

"We’re all thinking about the playing squad, looking after the players that we want to keep, making sure we're keyed into the next level of players we can bring in.

"And beyond that there’s the bigger picture of the football club and how it can moved forward.”

He added: "They've got to get used to me, how I operate, if they think that's appropriate, likewise me with them.

"At this stage I think we're getting on with the team, I think that's the main focus. The window's coming - what could be a very important window, depending - so we're getting on with that side of things."