THERE have been quite a few "lightbulb moments" during Sean Dyche’s long reign at Burnley but the rigs that shine brightly over the pitches at the state-of-the-art Barnfield Training Centre underline how far the club has come.

The Clarets boss marks eight years in charge at Turf Moor next week during which time he has overseen two promotions to the Premier League – establishing Burnley as a top-flight club in the process – secured a first European campaign in 51 years while he also had a major influence on the club’s training base on the outskirts of the town.

Dyche is by no means ready to sit back and reflect on a job well done just yet but a chance look out across those pitches at Barnfield struck a chord.

“Funny enough, I was just sat on the balcony last week, beautiful night, really mild and calm, I was on the phone and I did look out across the pitches and we had some light rigs on the pitches so the grass grows all winter,” said Dyche.

“When I started we could hardly afford a lightbulb, now we’ve got light rigs on our training pitches, so it’s a fair shift in what’s happened.

“So things like that, the quality of the pitches, the quality of the training ground, securing the club financially, all these good things, but you don’t just stop and go ‘that’s all right then’, you just keep going and going and going.

“Somewhere down the line in a number of years, I’ll have a glass of wine and reminisce on the good times.”

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Dyche knows he must be doing something right to have overseen one of Burnley’s most successful periods – making him the longest serving top-flight manager – but he says the supporters’ willingness to give some wriggle room when times have not been so good has been key.

“I think probably the balance of the acceptance of the fans of Burnley and what the club is has helped me be here so long,” said the 49-year-old.

“The reason why I say that is one season we finish seventh and the next season is a tough one, they could have been after me and the team, but I don’t think they were.

“There’s a resilience to their thinking.

“We’ve tried to be honest about the truth of the club, but not in a negative way because this is an amazing story the way the club’s grown.

“Without that balance of the people’s view, it’s very difficult. We know the demands can come on top very, very quickly.”

He added: “People want change, they want different styles, they want this, they want that and it goes very quickly into a situation which changes the manager’s lot.

“I haven’t had that. I’ve had question marks, of course, but that’s healthy, you’re going to get that in any walk of life.

“So I think there’s been a fairness to the thinking with the people who can change your situation, the fans.”

Dyche’s ability to survive and thrive on limited resources has seen him pick up plaudits from fellow managers – two of whom, Michael Duff and Joey Barton, worked with the Clarets boss at Turf Moor.

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Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder, is another admirer – something reciprocated by Dyche.

“Chris is someone I’ve always admired because of what he did in non-league and with Oxford, that’s an interesting one,” he said.

“I think there’s a reality to it as well. We haven’t always had it easy financially, but we keep going and succeeding to a level that is deemed appropriate.

“With Chris, there’s a mutual respect. With Joey and Duffo, they were fantastic for me in what we did here. They are forever people and will always be there.

“With management, the more miles, the more years you put on the clock, there’s a feeling you’ve earned that now.

“At first it’s a bit of a fight, doing each other down, but after a while, you’ve been in football long enough and there comes that respect.

“It doesn’t come down to ‘do I like him or not like him?’, you just get that respect.

“We’re still here and we’re still trying to get the job down so to speak.”

Dyche admits is it pretty "mad" that he has been in the job for so long – only Wycombe Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth, by 30 days, has served longer in all four divisions – but is proud that he has risen and stuck to the challenge.

“I understand that and there’s a bit of pride in lasting throughout the challenges, that’s a more real thing,” he said.

“I speak to enough managers, they’ve all got their trials and tribulations and challenges so, don’t get me wrong, I respect the time I’ve had here and the fact I’m still going because I don’t think that side of it is easy in football management due to the demands.”

He added: “I don’t think about it all the time but I do take value in that. All the different successes – the promotions and great players we’ve enjoyed – that’s something I’ll reflect on in years to come.

“But the fact I’m still active and still here, I do respect that in myself. I think it’s a very challenging job and it’s hard to do that over a number of years. It sounds mad in other industries – eight years – but, in football, that’s a long time.”