Burnley have been promoted to the premier league after finishing 4 points above Middlesbrough to secure the Football League Championship. The Clarets who were relegated from the English top division only last season, have their manager Sean Dyche to thank, who did not let the disappointment of relegation phase him or his players. He spoke about a business like approach to the season, where they balanced their books, made a profit of £30million through player sales and signed replacements who helped catapult them into the top tier of English football.
Andre Gray
Burnley star striker Andre Gray was the talisman of his team, scoring 24 goals on his way to winning the Championship player of the year, and leading his team to the summit of the league table. Having only signed for Burnley in August in a club record 6million deal, Gray has been instrumental in Burnley’s rise to the top tier of English football. He is blessed with pace and strength and will be a handful for defenders come August. It will be interesting to see how he deals with the step up to the big time, but from all accounts we have a lot more to see from Andre Gray.
Ben Mee
The Manchester born defender was voted as Burnley’s Players’ player of the year and the fans’ player of the year, scooping up both awards with his tireless displays throughout the season. He missed only 12 minutes of the Championship season and has been an ever present in the centre of their defence.
Tom Heaton
The Burnley goalkeeper was part of the team that won promotion two seasons ago, so he knows what to expect when it comes to the premier league. Heaton was named club captain at the start of the previous season and has kept 20 clean sheets this campaign. He averages 2.61 saves per game and will have to keep his good form going if Burnley have any hope of staying in the premier league past this season.
With Sean Dyche already having the experience of managing in the premier league before, he knows what a challenging place the top division is. He’s bringing the best players in the championship right now with him and a squad full of hungry individuals eager to prove themselves. We will be keeping an eye on Burnley to see how they get on during the course of the season, but expect a tough road ahead for the Clarets.