Burnley FC faithful surely disagree with Sean Dyche’s “no regrets” comments | OneFootball

Sean Dyche's comments after the January 2015 window will have split opinion among Burnley fans

There aren't too many things Burnley fans can moan at throughout Sean Dyche's tenure at Turf Moor, but their shortcomings in the 2014/15 Premier League campaign still cause hurt to this day.

The Clarets were unsuccessful in their battle to beat the drop that term, returning to the Championship at the first time of asking, but it was undoubtedly the January 2015 transfer window that left fans with the most bitter of tastes.

Having been a surprise promotion candidate in 2013/14, Dyche's Burnley side got over the line comfortably, but with a paper-thin squad that was depleted of any real top-flight quality or experience, the transfer windows were always likely to be huge.

The focus of the summer transfer window was on adding Premier League experience to the squad, and bringing in the likes of Steven Reid and Matt Taylor did just that, but they didn't particularly address the quality issue.

That was evident in the first half of the season when Burnley struggled to get results, but they were handed a chance for redemption in January when the winter window opened, but their approach surprised many.

Burnley's January 2015 transfer window was an abject failure

Despite it being evident to most that Burnley were desperate for reinforcements in January, Dyche took the unusual approach of signing no one - or no one new anyway - as making Michael Keane's move permanent was the only business they did.

Deadline day proved to be a bit of a circus for the East Lancashire club, who were understood to have missed out on two late deals due to clubs pulling the plug at the very last minute.

There was also speculation that the club had emailed agents begging for players in the days leading up to the deadline, although the club refuted that claim.

That proved to be catastrophic to Burnley's survival hopes, as despite battling valiantly, they were ultimately relegated from the Premier League, although Dyche incredibly claimed after their demotion that he had "no regrets" about their lack of spending.

It was a peculiar comment from the manager, with fans acutely aware that Burnley's distinct lack of spending was probably behind their struggles as they simply didn't have the capabilities to compete with their rivals.

Burnley lacked quality in midfield

It was primarily in midfield where Burnley were distinctly short of quality, and Dyche did try to address that in the January 2015 window, making moves to sign Graham Dorrans from West Brom and Henri Lansbury from Nottingham Forest.

Those two could well have been the two players whose moves collapsed on deadline day - their identities have remained a closed secret since - and if they were, then Dyche was certainly looking in the right area.

He added Nathaniel Chalobah in the summer window, but aside from that, he trusted the midfielders who got the club to where they were and that proved to be a fatal mistake as they simply didn't have the required quality.

For Dyche to look back and claim he had no regrets after relegation was a very strange claim and it will be one which still puzzles Burnley fans to this day.

That transfer window was also the first nail in the coffin of previous owner Mike Garlick, who many blamed for a lack of transfer activity as he ultimately had the final say where finances were concerned.