Dyche encouraged by performance at Macclesfield

Dyche oversaw a side at Moss Rose, while Tony Loughlan took another team which won 5-2 at Curzon Ashton.

Goals either side of half-time from Aaron Lennon and Johann Berg Gudmundsson were enough to see off former Claret Mark Yates’ Silkmen, and Dyche said: “I was really pleased, Mark’s come in here and got his team working, organised, hard to break down, and some of the quality of football was really good at times, controlled - and that’s a key thing we’ve found in the Premier League, we’re trying to add to that side of the game where we can control it better.

“I thought that was on show tonight, though obviously, with all respect, it’s more difficult to do that in the Premier League, but it’s a sign of what we’ve been trying to improve year on year.

“We showed signs of that last season, in many games, and it’s an ongoing thing. Can we improve with the ball? Not just keeping it for the sake of it, keeping it to create chances.

“And we did that tonight. We had a lot of chances, and good chances.”

He added: “Pre-season isn’t a marker, I’ve been through so many. I’ve had good, bad and indifferent, and it’s never a guarantee. But you always favour the side when they’re looking sharp, fit, right behind the eyes - the feel of the group, and that was on show tonight.

“It doesn’t guarantee anything, but I prefer that, a good feel about the group, good energy and quality, and good fight - players playing hard, properly. I like that mentality.”