Burnley 2, Southampton 0 - Chris Boden's verdict as the handbrake comes off

Interim boss Mike Jackson doesn’t think so - he insists there is “no magic wand” being waved in the Burnley dressing room, after the 2-0 win over Southampton at Turf Moor.

He said: "I hear it all the time if a manager leaves, people say you've done this or that. I don't think it's that, the players have just remembered who they are, what they are good at and capable of, as simple as that.

"We are here just to guide them. The staff have all mucked in, everyone has played their part.

"I don’t buy into this magic wand thing, it's nothing to do with that, we're not reinventing the wheel, it's a group of guys who have come together and are fighting.“

And the book Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Professor Stefan Szymanski would agree: “The new manager doesn’t usually cause the swing. He’s just its beneficiary.”

Recent Premier League statistics back up a team’s form picking up after the departure of a manager - in the four full seasons from, and including, 2017/18, there were 26 changes of manager, and 20 picked up more points per game in their first five games than their predecessors’ seasonal average.

In Sean Dyche’s 30 games this season, the side averaged 0.8 points per game, and, from albeit a small sample size, in the subsequent two, average two per game.

It is very easy to get carried away, but the Clarets look a different proposition all of a sudden.

Maintain that form for the final six games, and you suspect that might be enough to retain their Premier League status.

Dyche was the ninth managerial casualty in the Premier League this season, as clubs look to change their fortunes by affecting the team’s tactics, culture or players’ performance levels.

The culture is what has underpinned the club’s success during Dyche’s decade in charge, but there was certainly scope to tweak tactics and get more out of players.

And so far so good on that note.

The players have played with more purpose to their play, and more fight, in these last two games, with Saints boss Ralph Hassenhuttl admitting Burnley were physically better than his side.

Jackson added: “We won a lot of duels, we were competitive all over the pitch, but this group has always done that, it's nothing new, they've got that spirit and belief about them.”

However, that was not necessarily the case of late.

In terms of individuals, we have also seen better performances.

Dyche was eager to bring the best out of Wout Weghorst, and we have begun to see his quality again just by playing to the Netherlands striker’s feet and chest.

Dwight McNeil also looks reinvigorated.

Jackson said: “There’s been no massive change, they've just remembered who they are, they are Premier League players.”

There is much to be said for that, but credit where it’s due, someone has to coax that back out of a group who have struggled for most of the season.

There have been comparisons drawn with Owen Coyle taking over from Steve Cotterill in 2007, when the common perception was that Coyle ‘took the handbrake off’ players who, rather than continue with a more safety-first approach, began to express themselves more.

Coyle started similarly to Jackson, with four points from two games, and added two wins and a draw, before that initial uplift turned into seven without a win, with five defeats.

We all know what happened the following season, however.

It may only be two games, but rather than search for a manager to see out the season, before looking at a permanent appointment in the summer, it appears to make more sense to hand the post to Jackson for the rest of the campaign.

Yes, it is a huge responsibility - Burnley’s Premier League status and the financial implications involved, all in the hands of a man with limited senior managerial experience.

But the response he has got from the players has been hugely encouraging.

It is an experienced group, renowned for being self-policing in terms of the culture of the club and what is required on and off the pitch.

Jackson has been savvy enough to recognise that, and as Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp said: “They’re a team that know their jobs, they are good honest characters and they’ve given themselves a lifeline so I don’t see why you would change it now.”

Burnley have to build on this now by beating Wolves and putting the ball back in Everton’s court on Sunday, leaving them trailing the Clarets and facing an ominous derby clash at Anfield.

They produced the goods in the first leg of a home double, shaking off a nervy opening, and a couple of free headers for Oriel Romeu from corners, to take the lead with an exquisite left foot curler from Connor Roberts - a goal his Wales teammate Gareth Bale would be proud of.

And as it looked as though lightning could strike twice after Sundays failure to add a second when on top - with Fraser Forster in inspired form in the Southampton goal - Nathan Collins popped up to head in a Josh Brownhill corner, and make for a more comfortable experience than we have had since the wins over Brentford and Brighton.

Consistency is the key now, maintaining this level of performance over the final six games, and maybe the decision to dismiss Dyche will make a hell of a lot more sense than it did initially.