Friday 26 May 2017 09:17, UK
Burnley chairman Mike Garlick accepts the club will have to "constantly improve" if they are to keep Sean Dyche at Turf Moor.
Dyche's stock has continued to rise following another impressive season in charge of the Clarets, who defied the odds to avoid relegation in their first term back in the Premier League.
The 45-year-old was nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season award and Garlick knows he faces a battle to keep hold of his ambitious English manager.
"If we're successful, he's always going to be on lists," admitted Garlick.
"We just have to make sure we're hungry enough to keep driving things forwards and keep improving, and hopefully that keeps him motivated.
"It increases speculation but on the other hand, players we're looking to recruit look at Sean and think, 'Yep, I want to work for this guy', so it can only improve the recruitment.
"We've got to constantly improve and look to strengthen year-on-year, otherwise the challenge for any manager would decrease, the stimulation of the project would decrease.
"We've got to look forward and improve year-on-year. Staying in the league has to be the priority. But look at where the table was four weeks ago, I think half the division could have gone down if they had a bad run."
Dyche became the first Burnley manager in more than 40 years to keep Burnley in the top flight of English football for consecutive seasons.
Garlick believes it is fair to match Dyche's achievements to that of Harry Potts, who guided the Clarets the league title back in 1959-60.
"Harry Potts won the ultimate prize, but given the amount of money in the game, and what we've achieved so far, he's got to be in the top two or three, hasn't he, certainly in the post-war era," Garlick added.
"Sean's got to go down as one of our best managers in history, I think. If you are that then you are constantly going to be linked with opportunities as and when they arise.
"He's been here five years in October, personally I hope he's here for another five years until 2022, and if we can achieve that I'm sure we'll have more success together.
"The football side speaks for itself, but for me, the number-one thing is more him as a person - his character and the way he conducts himself.
"I got a very good reference from someone I know before we hired him, and it was a good call."
