Should Martin O'Neill be relieved of his managerial duties at the end of Ireland's qualifying campaign, one manager who seems intent on demonstrating his suitability for the role is Burnley's Sean Dyche.

Having signed Robbie Brady, Jeff Hendrick, Stephen Ward and Jonathan Walters, Dyche also afforded Kevin Long's his Burnley debut.

Not sure if I'm watching Burnley or Ireland — Zakk (@ZakkTheChimp) September 5, 2017


Well, when the January window opens for Premier League clubs, Shamrock Rovers' Michael O'Connor is set to become the latest Irishman trying making an impression at Turf Moor.

The 19 year old forward has scored 3 goals for Shamrock Rovers since moving from Dundalk last season, but, he has not yet broken into Stephen Bradley's regular first-team.

Although few will expect O'Connor to be anywhere near the Burnley starting-XI as a result, this move does signal O'Connor's second spell in England - having previously spent some time as a youth player with Bristol City.

One advantage that O'Connor does have over his many Irish compatriots however is some Champions League experience - he featured briefly in Dundalk's second-leg qualifier against Legia Warsaw in 2016.

Burnley are in their second-successive season of top-flight football for the first time since the mid-1970s. Having began with an opening day win away to the champions Chelsea, the Clarets are currently sitting 10th in the Premier League.