The league and its clubs are currently committed to finishing the 2019/20 campaign, which has been on hold since early March because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

No dates have been given for a possible return to training and a resumption of the fixture list, with sporting bodies following Government guidelines on isolation and social distancing.

But Dyche’s squad – 10^th in the table and unbeaten in seven league games before the hiatus – is stepping up its home training programme, following an initial shutdown, with the aim of being fit and raring to go when it’s safe and sensible to start playing again.

“At the moment the players are doing distance programmes and we are ramping that up now slightly,” said the Burnley boss.

“We are building that up, we are adding in their GPS units and just monitoring them more closely.

Presser pre-Everton A.jpg

“When this first really started we thought it was going to go on longer so we actually gave the players a 10 to 14-day break where we just said ‘make sure everyone’s well, look after your families, don’t worry about anything, take a load off’.

“Then we’ve started building back up from there. We’ve tried to look at it with a longer view and, so far, that’s worked.

“We haven’t got any intelligence on when it is actually going to go back to normal or some form of normal.

“When we get that then I’m sure we’ll have some guidelines on what we should be doing or allowed to do and then we’ll work within that.

“At the moment there's no outcome to their training, they're just training and waiting and seeing.

“We've told the players at this stage, make sure mentally you're staying locked in, make sure your prime thoughts, other than health, is to make sure we’re thinking that the season will go ahead.

“We’re saying ‘just stay engaged with it’ because when it comes around, the likelihood is there is the chance of a short pre-season to get ready.

“We want to be mentally ready because it is still a real season. Even though it’s going to be a considerably different season, if it is finished behind closed doors, it's still a real season and an active season and it means a lot, so we’ve got to be ready to take it on.”

Dyche corner.jpg

The Clarets have virtually assured themselves a fifth successive season of top-flight football with their run of form since mid-January.

With nine games to go they could even threaten their record Premier League points’ tally of 54.

But Dyche also has his eyes on the wider world of the benefits the sport can bring if the health of the nation allows the season to resume at some point during the summer.

“We’d like it to be finished,” Dyche told Sky Sports’ Football Show as part of a latest round of media commitments.

“The virus has had a massive effect. We all know that.

“But if football can play its part in giving something back - because football is a powerful thing - we’d try and look for that, I think, first.

“If we can give something back through the games, even if it is behind closed doors, but can be beamed out through different media streams, then I think that’s got to be a good thing.

“For me, ideally, if they can find a way of getting it done, I think it should be done. I think it would be good for the fans, it would be good for people around the world who love football.

“If it can’t be done, and health has to come first, we all know that, and we all accept that.”

POS	Team	PL	PTS
15	FOR	5	5
16	BUR	5	4
17	BRE	5	4

POS	Team	PL	PTS
15	FOR	5	5
16	BUR	5	4
17	BRE	5	4

Clarets Still 'Engaged' With Season

Premier League table

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