The two-time promotion-winning captain has returned to Burnley as Director of Youth Development, where he will start his role on September 1st.

Dobson joined the club as a 19-year-old, having been released by Bolton, and went on to make almost 500 appearances for the Clarets in two spells during the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Second Division title in 1973, and Third Division championship in 1982.

And now, having gone from a young player making his way in the game, to becoming a full international – Burnley's last full England cap – he will help develop the stars of tomorrow.

Dobson, who has been Academy Director at Bolton Wanderers, and a scout for Ipswich Town, is looking forward to the challenge: "I'm thrilled to be back. It came out of the blue a little bit, I got a phone call a couple of weeks ago from Paul Fletcher, who was obviously an old teammate of mine, and he said there might be something I might be interested in.

"I met Paul and Brendan Flood to outline things, and it was a very positive meeting.

"I then met Owen on Friday, and his backroom staff, Steve, Sandy and Phil – who I actually signed for Bury from Leeds on a free.

"The manager was very positive, and the way the club will be run, and the style of football, is geared to my philosophy.

"It's the right time. I can bring experience, contacts in the game, and knowledge.

"We're all looking for the same thing."

Having come off the Gawthorpe conveyor belt himself, Dobson is looking to instill the football philosophy he had drummed into him by Clarets legends such as Harry Potts and Jimmy Adamson: "It was a very easy decision to make. It's a long time since I was last here as a player, I left in 1984 to become manager of Bury, but it's come full circle.

"I came here as a young player, and was given a chance to play, and Harry Potts and Jimmy Adamson made me into an international player.

"You take on board all their principles and beliefs, and I've never lost that.

"Now we're talking about respect, and I don't think that's ever gone away with this football club, because that was drilled into us – no dissent, no retaliation, even swearing in training sessions meant you had to do press ups and things like that.

"It doesn't mean you're not going to be competitive, but those principles are important to me."

Burnley were renowned for producing home-grown talent in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, but the conveyor belt came to a juddering halt, before recently being cranked back into life, and he feels the club can get back to those halcyon days, despite competition from Premier League clubs on the doorstep: "Things are on the right road here, and we have spread the net far and wide. We will look for good players wherever they may be.

"The catchment area is terrific, but there is big competition, although they can't take all the players.

"I know people in the big clubs, Manchester United, City, Liverpool, Everton, and you never know what will emerge.

"When I was at Bolton, Kevin Nolan was the first to come through for 10 years since Alan Stubbs and Jason McAteer.

"He had been released by Liverpool, and after that, a 12-year-old Nicky Hunt came in from Daisy Hill, in the Bolton area.

"There were two players you could hang your hat on."

And having himself recovered from rejection at Bolton to become an England international, he feels his experience can inspire young players: "I always assumed if you were good enough as a player, you were going to be okay. I didn't know about mental strength.

"You will have tough times, and you need the determination and dedication to see it through.

"Attitude of players is important, away from home when you're 1-0 down and you need a goal from somewhere.

"You have to believe and contribute to the team effort, be it ability, power, pace, taking responsibility – all that comes into it, and it's not easy at 18, 19, to bring everything into the equation.

"I've come through it, and it's a learning experience.

"You have to be able to make sacrifices, because there are all these things out there, and you wonder about people's commitment, are they 100% focussed.

"One of the biggest things is to get the potential out of each individual player."

And Dobson can, in addition to Nolan and Hunt, point to players he has helped on the road to the top: "When I was released by Bolton at 19, I came here where there were all these fantastic international players, who all had their feet on the ground.

"There were no egos, and welcomed me into the dressing room – a nobody from a Second Division club.

"Because I was released and went on to play at the top level, I can pass on that experience.

"I used to ask people at Bury, people like Lee Dixon, David Lee, Jamie Hoyland and Andy Hill, what their ambition was.

"They would say 'I want to play in the first team', and I would say 'What about playing at the top level?' And they had never thought about that because they had been released.

"I had done it, and their outlook changed. You might not achieve international football, but all those players played at the top.

"Andy Hill went back to Manchester United to play in the derby with City, David Lee with Southampton and Bolton, Jamie Hoyland with Sheffield United, and Dicko was fantastic.
"That shows what can be achieved."