Burnley suffered a bitterly disappointing 2-0 defeat to Brentford yesterday as Ivan Toney netted a late double and Nathan Collins saw red in stoppage time.
The Clarest only needed a point to move out of the relegation zone but could find themselves four points adrift depending on Everton and Leeds United’s results today and tomorrow.
“It’s just a reality, it’s not a big blow, we’ve still got 11 games to go,” said head coach Sean Dyche.
“It’s the reality of the Premier League, we know it well.
“There’s not a lot wrong with the performance; we were on the ascendancy, creating chances, then we give away a really poor goal.
“There’s a big frustration. The marvel of a team performance is that when you can’t find that win, don’t lose! T
“Today was that kind of feeling because it felt like we were in the ascendancy, we had a large part of the game, we kept them down to minimal chances for a home side.”
Burnley were due to face Southampton in their next Premier League match but the Saints have FA Cup duties that take priority so the Clarets will now not be back in action until after the international break when they face Manchester City on April 2.
Away from the pitch, here are the transfer rumour stories making the headlines on Sunday morning:
1. Lukaku willing to take pay cut to leave Chelsea
Romelu Lukaku is willing to take a pay cut to facilitate a return to Inter Milan on loan from Chelsea (Calciomercato)
2. Barcelona and Juventus monitoring Chelsea situation
Several clubs are looking to take advantage of Chelsea’s current situation Barcelona monitoring Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta (Mundo Deportivo) while Juventus want Jorginho and Emerson Palmieri (Tuttosport)
3. Man U could beat Spurs to Johnstone signing
Manchester United could bring Sam Johnstone back to Old Trafford when his West Brom contract expires in the summer, beating Spurs and Southampton to the keeper’s signature (The Sun)
4. Red Devils enter Isak race
Manchester United have entered the race to sign Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak (The Star)