BURNLEY have not received an approach from Premier League strugglers Sunderland to speak to boss Sean Dyche, who jetted out to Spain for a training camp with the Clarets first-team squad on Sunday as planned.

Dyche has been strongly linked with the vacant Black Cats job, but no contact has been made with Burnley so far.

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It was business as usual for Dyche yesterday, with the manager supervising training at the La Manga Club, in south east Spain, with Burnley enjoying a warm-weather break before they return to the UK on Wednesday night.

Dyche is second favourite for the Sunderland job following Dick Advocaat’s decision to walk away from the role with the Wearsiders 19th in the Premier League having failed to win any of their opening eight games.

Advocaat initially signalled his intention to leave the club in the summer when his short-term contract came to an end, only to have a change of heart a few days later.

Sunderland were keen on Dyche as a replacement then, but reports he was a matter of hours away from joining the club before Advocaat’s u-turn are believed to be wide of the mark.

The 44-year-old Turf chief is again expected to feature highly on Sunderland’s wanted list now the job is available, with the Clarets boss held in high regard at the Stadium of Light.

While the Black Cats are determined not to rush into an appointment, they are keen to name a new boss before their next game, which is a week on Saturday when they travel to West Brom.

And the search for a replacement is further complicated by the fact sporting director Lee Congerton is understood to be working his period of notice.

Sam Allardyce, who left West Ham at the end of last season, is the early favourite for the job, but he would need assurances there will be cash to spend in the January transfer window if he is to take over at the Stadium of Light.

Former Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson is in the running, while David Moyes, currently in charge at Real Sociedad, is also reported to be under consideration.

Advocaat, 68, yesterday said he had decided to leave the club, without asking for a financial settlement, because he did not want another relegation battle.

“I already made my decision last week, but the club asked me to do the match against West Ham and I really wanted to finish this in style,” he said.

“The struggle against relegation is not my cup of tea. I think it was time for someone else to take over at Sunderland. I became negative and that didn’t feel like myself.

“I don’t regret signing my new contract because it was a great experience. Our squad was simply not good enough. The club knew we had to strengthen ourselves, but the chairman (Ellis Short) never told me how much we could spend.”