Burnley defender labels former boss Sean Dyche a 'club legend' a week on from shock dismissal

The 20-year-old was brought in to the club by the 'gaffer' in the summer for a fee in the region of £12m from Stoke City.

He played 14 times under the ex-Watford chief, netting his first goal for the Clarets in what turned out to be Dyche's final game in charge at Turf Moor against Everton.

Speaking to the Burnley Express after netting the home side's second goal against Southampton on Thursday, he said: "It was an awkward one, I didn’t feel great. But I knew there were seven or eight games to go and we knew we had to do something.

"I just had to let it go and play our game. I had the lads going and we had to get each other going and we knew we had a task on our hands and we still do. We have to keep going.

"He [Sean Dyche] is a club legend, everyone knows that. Even the fans know, they’re screaming his name tonight as well. He’s done everything for the club."

The Republic of Ireland international's headed finish from a Josh Brownhill corner put the hosts 2-0 up just before the interval after fellow defender Connor Roberts had opened his account with a stunning goal.

The result against Ralph Hasenhüttl's plugged the gap on the Toffees to a solitary point ahead of the weekend's fixtures. The Clarets entertain Wolves on Sunday, prior to the Merseyside derby, which can have huge ramifications at both ends of the table.

"It was unbelievable," said Collins. "What a night. We’ve had another one of these nights and hopefully on Sunday we can do it again.

"You can hear it in the fans, you can hear it in the stands. It’s unbelievable. It really backs us. It helps us so much. If they keep doing that we’ll keep playing well.

"We know we have a task on hand. With a manager, without a manager, we have to do something about it on the pitch and I think the togetherness in this group shows what we can do. It doesn’t matter who’s there backing us, we have to back each other and the togetherness showed that tonight."