The Pace of change

Some may take a different view down the road in Blackburn, but Burnley chairman Alan Pace explains that one of the strengths he aims to build on is that “no-one hates” the Clarets.

“It matters a lot,” he adds, and it is just one of the selling points that made the Turf Moor club so attractive to the Wall Street veteran and his ALK Capital Investment Group.

The takeover was completed in December last year, with ALK taking an 84 per cent stake in the Premier League outfit. According to reports it spent around £170m on the deal.

Warming to the USP theme, or “the secret sauce” as he describes it, he adds: “It is the genuineness of what this club represents.”

He contrasts that to some of Burnley’s ‘noisy neighbours’ - the footballing giants of the North West’s big cities. He explains: “There’s an ability to cut through, to say to people if you want something different, something focused on family and community and doing the right thing all of the time, this is the place for you.”