SEAN Dyche highlighted how proud he is of his Burnley squad after they fought to secure a fourth consecutive season in the Premier League.

Burnley were firmly in the bottom three on Boxing Day, with just 12 points, but a fine second half of the season pushed them to a 15th placed finish.

Dyche added how he has brought his demands of himself as a player in to his style of coaching.

"It was in a different way, obviously you don’t want it ideally," said the Burnley boss.

"To end up fighting to get over the line and pushing in every game to get over the line, but that’s the kind of season it’s been this season.

"Every season is a restart for us, this season has been a big one for us for many reasons. It’s well documented, I’m not going to go on about it again.

"We have come through it and I’m very pleased for that. I’m pleased for the club and I’m very proud for the players.

"It’s difficult after the Christmas period and the noise starts building about your lack of results – not just me as a manager, but the players as well.

"They’ve seen through that well and delivered good performances in the second half of the season. I’m definitely proud of what they’ve achieved this season, but in a different way."

Dyche believes his side are rarely favourites going in to a new season, and it's not about proving the doubters wrong.

"I don’t think it’s about that. We’ve been proving ourselves right for a long time here. It’s very rare we’re favourites," added Dyche.

"I think one season to be fair, when we went back up from the Championship, we were in the top three that season to be considered for promotion.

"Every other season more or less, we’re not favourites, that’s for sure.

"We make sense of it and we’ve found a way and we continue to find different ways of operating and finding different outcomes, which is certainly to be in the Premier League."

The Burnley boss thinks his experiences as a player have helped him in his management career.

"I was demanding of myself as a player and with those around me, but always for the good of the team. I was always a team player," Dyche said.

"When you’re younger you’re fighting for your own self-worth and you want to make sure you’re getting a career.

"As you get older, certainly from mid-20s, I was getting big on the whole team thing. I knew without a team, there was no point really.

"I’ve taken some of that player influence into my coaching as well.

"If you combine your own feelings with what it is to be a player, with the modern course and badges then if you wrap it around the experiences you have then it helps you.

"I try and look at it with a logical format and apply it when I’m with the team."