WEMBLEY was not a happy hunting ground for Sean Dyche in his only appearance there as a player.

The young defender had reached the old Division Four play-off final with Chesterfield in May 1990, with only Cambridge United standing between them and promotion.

Dion Dublin’s goal for the opposition was enough to settle the tie and consign Chesterfield to another season in the basement division.

Dyche had suffered disappointment there too as a child in the late 70s, when hometown team Kettering reached the FA Trophy final, only to be beaten by Stafford Rangers.

Nevertheless, Dyche admits it will always be a special place with a special feel.

But the growth of grand, imposing stadia among Premier League teams means that he is not expecting his players to be overawed by tomorrow’s trip down Wembley Way.

Ground improvements at White Hart Lane mean Spurs have relocated to the national stadium this season - a decision they may come to regret given their poor record there over the last nine years.

It is a potential another factor in why Burnley should not feel intimated tomorrow, but Dyche said: “The idea of Wembley has changed down the years because of all the different events there, different finals, and also because the stadia in general has improved so massively in my lifetime that if you go to the Emirates it’s nearly as big as Wembley anyway.

“You’ve got the Manchester stadiums as well, so going into Wembley is not the same as when I was a kid.

“It was a massive thing then, Wembley was huge and you thought ‘my goodness you’re at Wembley’, whether you’re watching or playing or whatever, whereas now I think there are that many good stadia the players have got more used to playing in these venues.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s still Wembley, there’s still an edge to it. It’s just not like when I was growing up watching through a screen and it was like the be-all and end-all.

“I remember going to Wembley watching Kettering v Stafford Rangers in 1979. Kettering lost unfortunately. But the whole town was going there on a bus and it was an enormous thing just to be at Wembley.

“But the stadia is so good across the board, particularly some of the big Premier League clubs, it’s just got a different feel now. Still with an edge, but not the edge that it used to have when I was growing up.”

Spurs have won just one of their last 10 matches at Wembley, but Dyche added: “The only thing that works to your advantage is playing well, in my opinion, for us.

“Obviously there’s some talk about them and how they’re feeling at Wembley and results and all that sort of stuff. We can’t control that. That’s in our world. For us it’s about performing. No matter what stadium you’re in you’ve got to perform well.

“I think it’s something different. Some of the players have been there, some haven’t. I think it’s just another experience to add to the many we’ve had here.”

Dyche could have played at Wembley twice but for injury ruling him out of the 1995 Third Division play-off final between Chesterfield and Bury, which the Spireites won.

“I missed that.

“Three games before the end of the season I ruptured the underside of my foot and missed the play-offs and the final.

“I commentated on it actually, for the local radio.”

Managers often take their squads for a tour of the stadium the night before to help deal with the nerves of playing at such a venue, but Dyche won’t be doing that.

“I don’t worry about all that sort of stuff. It’s just a football pitch. Whistle blows, go run around, work really hard,” he said.

“A lot of people really overthink this game.”