Dyche admits there are '˜no guarantees' as Burnley look to climb further away from trouble

Clarets boss Sean Dyche accepts the hard work has only just begun, as his side look to continue to inch away from the wrong end of the table.
Burnley's Jeff Hendrick battles with Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon

Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport

The Premier League - Burnley v Fulham - Saturday 12th January 2019 - Turf Moor - Burnley

World Copyright © 2019 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comBurnley's Jeff Hendrick battles with Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon

Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport

The Premier League - Burnley v Fulham - Saturday 12th January 2019 - Turf Moor - Burnley

World Copyright © 2019 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Burnley's Jeff Hendrick battles with Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport The Premier League - Burnley v Fulham - Saturday 12th January 2019 - Turf Moor - Burnley World Copyright © 2019 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

But three-successive Premier League wins – and four in all competitions – are a good pointer that Burnley are returning to what they are all about.

Dyche’s side have gone from 18th, two points ahead of bottom side Huddersfield Town, on Boxing Day, to 10 clear of the Terriers, and seven in front of Fulham.

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The table is somewhat tighter beyond the bottom two, with Burnley, in 15th, three clear of Newcastle in 18th, and five adrift of Brighton in 13th.

Asked about his side’s form and the situation at the bottom, Dyche said: “It brings a feeling, it encourages the mentality we’ve got.

“There are no guarantees but it is a big shift for us.

“There is still more work to be done.

“Every game is important in the Premier League, no matter who you are playing.

“Usually you have to play hard right the way until the last game – not last season, we were miles out of it – but I have been really pleased with the last three, four games, with that winning edge.”

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Things have taken an upturn since the 5-1 defeat at home to Everton on Boxing Day, and Dyche added: “That is statistically an anomaly to concede three goals in 20 minutes, from a corner, a direct free kick and dubious penalty.

“The game has gone away from you then, but you can’t say that at the time, because everyone says you’re making excuses.

“We have to look through that sometimes and remind ourselves what we are doing.

“That was another knock and it clears your mind, ‘that’s not us’ and we bounced out of that and now we definitely look more like us.

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“I did think it was coming, to be fair, and we are tidying up the details now.”

Dyche hailed the contribution of Jeff Hendrick on Saturday, as he forced both Burnley goals, having played narrow on the right: “Really pleased, some people give him the odd question mark, but we ask a job of him in all sorts of different positions, and he’s delivered again, his play, his work ethic, he has nicked a goal and the own goal – he made the ground up to find himself in that position.”

Hendrick filled in for Johan Berg Gudmundsson, who sat out the game with a thigh injury, leaving Dwight McNeil as the only available wide player, with Robbie Brady suspended and Aaron Lennon out until February at the earliest.

But Gudmundsson could return at Watford on Saturday: “He was very close. I would expect him to have a good few days until the weekend.”