Dyche's focus remains the same

Burnley manager Sean Dyche during the Premier League match at the KCOM Stadium, Hull. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday February 25, 2017. See PA story SOCCER Hull. Photo credit should read: Mike Egerton/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications.

The Clarets were widely expected to struggle in the Premier League as they looked to secure survival at the third attempt, after twice being relegated immediately after winning promotion.

But while they claimed only a second point on the road at Hull City on Saturday, their 29 home points means they are more than keeping their heads above water.

Dyche hasn’t changed his focus, and, asked whether expectations have risen, admitted: “Not mine. “Mine stay steadfast to what I believe is correct for the group. Everyone else can have their version. My group know what I think and how I operate and that’s the key thing for me.”

The mantra of one game at a time remains in place: “We’ve stuck to a mantra ever since I’ve been at the club. To build something, you can only do it one piece at a time.

“Seasons get built one game at a time. It’s something we’ve focused on for a long time now.

“We move forward, we park it, as we did with last week’s game. A lot of noise was made about that. It went away.

“You saw on Saturday a clarity in the performance, the will and demand. We can still add to our quality, particularly away from home.”

The search for a first away win will continue at Swansea City on Saturday, but while Dyche hopes his players will have a freedom to perform, he knows they can’t relax yet: “Whoever you play you have to try and get points, we’ve had a number of twists of fate out of our control, Arsenal being the latest one, and it’s hard to stomach.

“But Saturday was a good performance and we have to try and do it again next week, and the week after.

“The pressure is on the opposition. No one thinks we can win away, it wasn’t mind games, just the facts as I see it.

“In the early part of the season, we didn’t play well enough away from home. We didn’t deserve any results.

“But four or five games ago, there was a massive shift in performance levels. We’ve gone to some tough places – Tottenham, Arsenal – how we didn’t get a point at Arsenal is beyond belief.

“Lately, I’ve not been disappointed with many of the performances.”