Danny Ings gunning for Hammers

The Clarets, top of the Championship and full of confidence after eight wins on the spin, entertain Sam Allardyce’s Hammers, with the prize of a quarter-final place in the Capital One Cup at stake.

West Ham are expected to make sweeping changes, having played at Swansea on Sunday, but 13-goal Ings expects a stern test - although one Burnley are more than capable of passing at present.

He said: “It’s a massive game, against a Premier League side, and it’s going to be very tough.

“With them playing on Sunday, I’m not sure if they’ll put their full side out, but either way they’re going to be quality that’s for sure.

“But I’m sure if we can do the same as we did against QPR we can get a result.”

Burnley extended their lead at the top of the Championship to three points with victory over Harry Redknapp’s Rs, and Ings sees no reason why the Clarets can’t secure another win, with Burnley in their best run of form since charging towards the Fourth Division title in 1991/92: “It’s definitely possible. We’re going out there and running over teams. We’re fitter than most teams that we come up against and our ability is showing that as well.”

The team top of the Championship table at this stage in the last five years has been promoted, and Ings believes Burnley can maintain their push: “I don’t see why not.

“Because of our squad, people won’t look at us and think ‘they’re contenders to go up’ but what we’re showing in our performances right now is that we can beat anybody in this league. I’m sure if we keep everybody fit we’ve got every chance.

“We’ve got a really honest group of players who want to learn and get better every day. If you come down and see training you’ll see how sharp it is and how hungry the lads look.

“I’ve played in other teams and you hear about other teams and I know for a fact they don’t train as good as we do. We train every day to try and become better players and practice our game and it’s showing at the weekends.”