Burnley boss lays down the gauntlet to board

Burnley's cautious model of spending is coming under strain and boss Sean Dyche is urging the club to spend to reinforce the squad. In part the club has done well in the past by getting bargain buys off cash strapped clubs like Charlton (Nick Pope £1.5m; Johann Gudmundsson £2.2m). But Dyche reckons those days are over.

Dyche commented: 'I have said for a long time that we need to get ahead of the curve. But doing that costs a lot of money. You can't work for ever on a net spend of £9m a year.'

This is the challenge for clubs that seem secure in the Premier League mid-table. It can all suddenly fall apart: think Stoke City and Bournemouth and Watford this season.

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