Olympiakos manager Pedro Martins on Burnley, developing Ederson and the strength of the Premier League

The wealth of the English top flight make it difficult for even well-established European clubs to compete but Olympiakos' new manager

Pedro Martins in training ahead of Olympiakos’s Burnley test (EPA)

“It’s a huge difference,” says Pedro Martins, the Olympiakos manager, as he contemplates the financial disparity between his club and Burnley, their hosts at Turf Moor on Thursday night.

His new club is the most successful and best-supported in Greece, with 44 domestic titles, 160 appearances in top-tier European competition and a name known across the continent. Cast an eye over the balance sheets, though, and they are this tie’s underdogs.

Burnley may have a reputation for frugality under Sean Dyche, and Dyche himself may fear that the club will be left behind domestically unless more money is spent, but Premier League status and its attendant wealth elevates even the most modest members of the English top-flight above and beyond many renowned European rivals.

The £28m spent at Turf Moor this summer dwarfs Martins’ £5m outlay in Piraeus, for example. Olympiakos’ marquee signing of this transfer window is expected to be Yaya Touré, and though the Ivorian’s wage demands will eat into the personal wealth of owner Evangelos Maranakis, it is telling that if Touré is to arrive, it will be on a free transfer.

“You see the best teams in Europe are in England, the best players are in England, so everybody wants to go to England,” says Martins. “But budgets, for me, don’t win games on the pitch.”

That was the case last week in Piraeus, when his side bested Burnley and established the 3-1 aggregate lead they carry into Thursday’s Europa League play-off second leg. Martins has previous experience of frustrating English clubs in the Europa League, too.

“When I was at Maritimo, we played against Newcastle in 2012. The difference in budget between the two clubs was huge, but we drew both games,” he says, recalling a goalless stalemate at home and a 1-1 scoreline at St James’ Park.

“Money is important of course. You can buy the best players, but it’s not everything. We can combat that with strategies. The most important thing for me is our philosophy and our process.

“Of course, we don’t have the same budget but we have good quality at the club. Some young, others experienced, but we have the quality to be prepared for tomorrow.”

This is Martins’ first year in a job outside of his native Portugal – “a small country,” he says – and his task now is to reassert Olympiakos’ dominance of Greek football. Last season, for the first time in seven years, Thrylos failed to win the domestic title.

Ederson developed under Martins at Rio Ave (Getty)

In Martins, Maranakis turned a manager who forged his reputation by exceeding expectations at modest, low-budget clubs. Four stable, successful years at Maritimo were followed by respectable two-season spells at Rio Ave and Vitoria Guimaraes. At all three clubs, Martins achieved Europa League qualification while developing young talent.

One such talent at Rio Ave was Ederson, now Pep Guardiola’s goalkeeper at Manchester City. “I knew he had the conditions to be a great goalkeeper,” Martins says.

“We didn’t know if he would be the best [in the world] or one of the best, but he had the skills, he had the quality. He is very strong with his feet, shows ‘tranquillity’ in the net and I like those type of goalkeepers. All the time, he gave confidence to the players.

“When I saw him and was working with him, I saw a good goalkeeper. When I gave him a chance, he showed the quality he had and he improved a lot after that,” he adds. “For the game of Manchester City, he’s the right goalkeeper. He gives a lot of options.”

Martins is a fan of English football and an admirer of Dyche’s work with Burnley. “They have one profile of the players and the team,” he notes. “They know exactly what they want, and for me that’s important. With this coach, everybody knows what to do and he has his philosophy.”

And though Martins is only a few months into his new role, should he impress in Greece, the path from Piraeus to the Premier League is already established. A successful spell with Olympiakos was enough to bring compatriot and Everton manager Marco Silva to England.

“Everybody has ambitions to work in one of the best championships in the world,” Martins says of the Premier League. “It’s not just because they have money. They have a big atmosphere, the fans are great. It’s different. Everybody who loves football loves England, of course.

“But I’m focused at Olympiakos,” he adds. “I’m very happy and I have too much to do now. My focus is only here.”