Burnley are faced with a horror pitch at Olympiacos on Thursday as Sean Dyche rejected the idea of sacrificing the Europa League to ensure domestic survival.
The Clarets did not train at the Karaiskakis Stadium on Wednesday night, as is customary in Europe, after Olympiacos applied to UEFA for special dispensation to break rules and preserve their surface.
Dyche took his squad to nearby Panionios instead and the chaos was hardly ideal preparation ahead the club’s biggest European game for 51 years.
A win over two legs against the former Champions League quarter-finalists would secure a spot in the group stage, but worries over a pitch described as ‘patchy’ overshadowed the build-up.
‘It’s not great,’ Dyche said. ‘We were made aware that we’d have to train on an alternative surface, which they provided which is equally not that great either, but useable.
‘Most Premier League and Championship clubs have surfaces which are usually in very good condition, so we are a little bit spoilt.’
Burnley officials were nonplussed when checking on the pitch on Wednesday, while Olympiacos sources claimed it is normal for this time of year, with their season not kicking off until Sunday.
‘This will be interesting to see how it plays,’ Dyche added. ‘It’s not ideal, but to be fair I’m sure the club don’t want it to be like this. It’s a challenge, but this whole competition is a challenge.’
Sam Allardyce believes the challenge is too step for Burnley, advising them to lose this qualifying play-off to concentrate on the Premier League.
Dyche – who is toying with the idea of giving Matej Vydra his debut in Athens - rejected that notion and wants his team to grasp their chance of glory.
‘I understand his train of thought,’ he said. ‘But we want to take this on - we’ve made that clear. It’s good for me as a manager who continues to learn, it’s good for the group.
‘You want to look back on your career and know you have experienced as many things as possible.
‘The Premier League is unforgiving, we know that. There is a demand on us, more from the travelling and the slight time change. That’s the biggest challenge so far.
‘Our squad depth is well documented. We have some injuries and we were looking for more bodies in the market and that didn’t happen.’
Meanwhile, Nakhi Wells is heading on loan to Steve McClaren’s Championship strugglers QPR.