CLARETS chairman Mike Garlick says fans will have to be patient again as Burnley look to strengthen their ranks at Turf Moor this summer.

The club did most of their business in the later stages of the window a year ago, breaking their transfer record with deals for Steven Defour and Jeff Hendrick in the closing weeks of August.

Garlick admits it is tempting to try to push through deals early, but he knows patience usually pays and it could be a similar tale over the next couple of months. But the Turf chairman is confident that everyone at the club is now more streetwise to life in the Premier League, while the recruitment department is bigger than ever, meaning the Clarets have got eyes on more players than previously.

“The players are a bit wiser to the Premier League,” Garlick said. “They’re more experienced. It’s not just getting new players in it’s improving the experience of what you’ve got. The team, the manager, myself and (chief executive) Dave Baldwin, who do most of the transfer dealings, we’re all more experienced.

“The recruitment team is larger, so we’ve got more bodies on it, we’re turning over more players in the UK and Europe. So overall you’d like to think we can get better outcomes.

“But it’s hard, but you just keep going. We get knock-backs but we keep going, you could see that last season.”

A year ago the Clarets eventually managed to do a £10million deal with Derby County on deadline day for Hendrick, with the Republic of Ireland international a target throughout the transfer window only for the Rams to play hardball until the final hours.

And Garlick is happy to play the long game rather than rushing deals through and paying over the odds for new additions.

“I know the fans were disappointed we didn’t get signings in early. It’s tempting to do that, we’re getting offered players every day, but you have to draw the line,” he said.

“You get other clubs with players you want who start off with ridiculous valuations and we haven’t got the sort of money when we can pay £15million for him and £20million for him.

“We have to wait until the market finds some equilibrium, which it always does. When the window opens people will try any sort of figure with you.”

Garlick has admitted that the wage bill at Turf Moor is likely to rise as well this summer, although paying high salaries will always be a stumbling block at the moment for Burnley, who are reluctant to carry big earners on their books over long contracts.

“It’s hard to plan two or three years ahead in that respect. The market is what it is at any moment and it can change,” said Garlick.

“The main thing is if you bring players in and they are paid more then they’re better than what we’ve got.”