Sean Dyche has done an outstanding job at Burnley.

Albion's next opponents are heading for the Europa League next season as the best of the rest outside the Big Six.

It is easy to forget that Burnley were instantly relegated back to the Championship only three seasons ago.

Since then Dyche has guided them to the title, 16th and now seventh.

He has done it on a shoestring with a well-organised team of resilient grafters, peppered with players who were at Albion in the second and third tiers.

The Argus: Stephen Ward (above centre), Chris Wood, in-form Ashley Barnes (above right) and Sam Vokes will all feature in Dyche's matchday squad against the Seagulls at Turf Moor on Saturday.

Who would have thought they would be where they are now?

In any other season, one without such stylishly impressive champions as Manchester City and Pep Guardiola's skill in improving already very good players into even better ones, there would be a strong case for Dyche to be manager of the year.

His biggest test is yet to come, one that faces every manager of every club outside the top six powers of the English game. What happens next when you over-achieve?

In 2014-15, the season that Burnley were relegated, Swansea were eighth with a record points tally under Garry Monk, their highest finish for 33 years.

The Welshmen have gone through three more managers and gradually slipped, from 12th to 15th and currently 17th under Carlos Carvalhal.

In 2015-16, Leicester outrageously won the League under Claudio Ranieri. Nine months later, the Foxes were in the last 16 of the Champions League but one place above the relegation zone and Ranieri was sacked.

Now, after Craig Shakespeare's shortlived reign, Claude Puel is in charge of Leicester. The Frenchman was abandoned by Southampton after steering them to eighth last season and the League Cup final.

Look at Southampton now and West Brom since they got rid of Tony Pulis, who took them to tenth. West Brom are doomed, Southampton could join them.

The only way is down for Burnley in the Premier League table next season. Especially as Dyche (below left) will have the Europa League to cope with as well.

The Argus: That could be a poisoned chalice, a season starting in July and more matches to play, stretching the squad.

Improving a squad finishing seventh on limited resources will, Dyche admits, be difficult.

He said: "We can't jump to £25 million for people, five times over, we've got to look not just for the next six months but the six months after that, 18 months, 24 months, and that is tough.

"We've been carrying three main centre-backs all year and done well with it but we're not in a position to just buy a player for the sake of filling a hole "We've never been in that position and we're still not. That player might be £10 million."

Dyche signed a new contract in January until 2022. It is hard to see where else he can go that would be a step up.

Everton perhaps if they dispense with Sam Allardyce (below). Dyche, among the favourites before Allardyce was appointed, would probably be regarded (unfairly) as too similar.

The Argus: The only other possibility that springs to mind is Newcastle, should Rafa Benitez decide he has done as well as he can with them and is headhunted.

It is far more likely that Dyche, with the departure of Arsene Wenger from Arsenal at the end of the season, will become the Premier League's second-longest serving manager.

He is 17 days behind Bournemouth's Eddie Howe, who he succeeded at Burnley.

Albion's Chris Hughton will move up to fourth below Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino, a further reminder of the precarious nature of the profession considering he has been in charge at the Amex for less than three-and-a-half years.

Dyche has already been at Burnley for five-and-a-half years. The end of next season, after their European adventure, might be the time to move on. Moving up may be harder.