Burnley make their return to the Premier League after a five season absence and will be hoping to stay in the English top division for longer than a season this time around.

It will be difficult but manager Sean Dyche has what it takes. He has formed a close-knit squad that will fight for each other and with no big-name superstars in the squad, Dyche has embedded the philosophy “that there is no I in team” into players.

This was evident in their form in the Championship, as they quietly went about their business and made headlines for their footballing ability on the pitch.

For Burnley to stay up this season, they need to reach the cliche of the 40 point mark as early as possible.

In order to do that, Turf Moor will have to be where they pick up the majority of their points while away from home they will have to be as hard to beat as possible.

In their last outing in the Premier League, they failed miserably on the road which proved to be their downfall.

If they can get around 20 points on the board by January, they should stand a decent chance of staying up. 

All this is said at the start of every season for the newly promoted sides but it rings true every year.

The last thing Dyche will want is for a massive gap to open up between his side and the rest of the league by Christmas but looking at the fixture list that may be the case.

Burnley welcome Chelsea on the opening weekend of the season before travelling to Wales where they face Swansea. They then host Manchester United and their record by the end of August could read: “played three, lost three.”

You then look at a possible “easy” fixture and you struggle to find one. Dyche will need to take points from the sides around them to stand any chance of staying up and hope to get some lucky wins against the teams in the top-half.

Owen Coyle famously beat Manchester United 1-0 back in 2009, a repeat result like this on August 30 could do wonders for their chances this season.

The hope is that Dyche is given a fair chance this year and that if they do fall adrift by February, that the board don’t get trigger-happy and sack him.

This is a squad that the 43-year-old has built and given the freedom and backing by the board, he could do a spectacular job.

Danny Ings (pictured) looked like a clinical striker in the Championship and his 21 goals helped fire Burnley to the Premier League. 

Despite being wanted by Southampton and Newcastle, Ings has decided to remain loyal to Dyche and his goals will be vital if they have any ambition to play top-flight football next season.

Defender Ben Mee has recently signed a new contract with the club which is a huge boost. The 24-year-old was an ever-present in a defence that only conceded 14 goals at home last season.

Although the former Watford manager’s acquisitions so far have seen a mixture of proven and unproven Premier League players brought into the club, they all add a little bit extra to a side which already had considerable talent in it.

Lucas Jutkiewicz can be hit-and-miss in front of goal but on his day he can be deadly and for £1.5 million it is a shrewd bit of business, while the arrivals of Michael Kightly and Matt Taylor will give the east Lancashire side the experience every promoted side craves in their first season after promotion.

One cause for concern is their pre-season friendlies. 

The club have struggled to see off lower league opposition — drawing 2-2 with Reading and just about overcoming Blackpool who had to include nine players on trial with the club just to make up the numbers. 

And while not too much can be read into results over the summer, they will have to raise their level ten-fold if they are to give themselves a fighting chance against the powerhouses in the top tier of English football.