SEAN Dyche insists he hasn't yet reached a glass ceiling at Burnley and believes his side can continue to challenge the Premier League's big boys.

The 46-year-old recently signed a new four-and-a-half year deal at Turf Moor that took his spell with the Clarets close to a decade.

That contract came after Dyche was heavily linked with the vacancies at Leicester City and Saturday's opponents Everton in the final few months of 2017.

But Dyche insists there was never any contact with the Toffees and insists he is showing ambition by committing his future to Burnley.

With 10 games to go this season the Clarets remain in pole position to finish in seventh and 'best of the rest' behind the financially powerfully top six, but Dyche believes there is still more to come from the club.

"We all know, eventually finance wins the day, so you cheat the system for a number of years, then eventually finance makes it tough," he said.

"There are a few similar-ish to us who have to balance it a bit, some have had a go and it didn’t quite work and they have to cut, so apart from the super powers, there’s a bit of balance to it.

"I don’t see it as a literal glass ceiling, there’s still scope to improve. We were second favourites to go down, so that suggests we’re in front of the curve of this glass ceiling."

Dyche has won plenty of plaudits for the job he has done at Turf Moor and insists he continues to learn on the job.

"You probably learn more when it’s more challenging, and the challenge here is stimulating," he said.

"You’re always at stretch, what can you do next, what player can we sign, how can we work with the training, how can we adapt that, the flexibility of the team, can we get more out of the players, can we add from outside to in, can we still not have a bad run, can we find those results, win the margins, get more parity from decisions - they all go into the melting pot.

"That’s a really healthy place to be, that’s ambitious. You could leave for more money, and maybe a glossier looking club, but will you learn as much, or be given time to? Probably not.

“When that challenge comes, if it’s real, I’ll know when the right time is.

“I like the demand, the challenge, the honesty, the clarity I work under, I like the area, the people, and people overlook that.

“They say ‘you’ve got to go’. I think I can decide for myself.

“Attractive is often the badge and money, and I’ve been linked with some fantastic clubs, and people think you just think like that, ‘oh well, I’ll go there and do that because it’s that club and they’ve got more money’."

There was a feeling towards the end of last year that Dyche may decide to leave Turf Moor while his stock was at an all-time high.

He admits that does come in to a manager's thoughts, but said your stock being high doesn't guarantee your next job will be a success.

“Guess what happens to that job? Out you go son," Dyche said.

"Everyone thinks you’ll just go in and be fine, but look at the casualty rate, I prefer to keep grafting and keep learning.

"At least if you leave for, let’s say, a big job somewhere down the line, you must have a better chance if you’ve put the hours in, the shift in, the learning curve.

“Most of the top chefs started by peeling the spuds.

“Not many went straight in at the top, they know all the rungs of the ladder."