Goal could be a big turning point in the Clarets season

The Clarets midfielder - surely one of the signings of the season, arriving on a free transfer from Huddersfield Town in the summer - curled in a glorious winner against Blackpool to take Burnley back to the top of the Championship.

It was his fifth goal of the campaign, and, asked where it ranked, he smiled: “It’s right up there to be fair, with the meaning of the goal - in a derby and putting us back on the top of the league.

“It was more a team performance and in the last 20 minutes we had to dig right in there and show what we’re all about.

“It could take on more significance at the end of the season, and hopefully it does, but we have to take it game by game and see what happens.”

Leicester’s televised win at QPR earlier in the day opened up the chance for Burnley to return to the top with a win, and Arfield added: “It’s brilliant to be back at the top of the league again.

“Every game is a carrot to get the three points and see what happens at the end of it.

“Those three points put us at the top of the league and it’s a great feeling.

“It goes to show what a fantastic result it was to get that point at Leicester.”

Over the last five seasons, the team top at Christmas has gone on to win automatic promotion, but the former Falkirk man isn’t getting carried away: “It’s a tough league and when you’re up there you deserve to be up there, and I think we thoroughly deserve it.”

And he described his derby winner: “It came to me on the left hand side, the conditions played a part in it.

“I just saw the keeper kind of coming out a wee bit, and I thought if I can hit this at the right angle I’m sure the conditions are going to help, and thankfully they did.

“It was a fantastic start to the half.

“I think we played ever so well in the first 20 minutes of the first half and could have had a couple of goals by then.

“Blackpool eventually started coming back into the game - with the players they’ve got they’re going to do so.

“I know Stephen Dobbie from Scotland connections and he’s fantastic at picking up pockets, and Tom Ince is a fantastic player, with Davies up front. You know it’s going to be hard and it’s up to us to do what we could do and thankfully we got the win.

“It’s our biggest three points so far. It was fantastic.”

Burnley travel to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day and Arfield looked ahead to a testing trip: “It’s a hard place to go up there.

“But at the end of the day there are three points to get and we feel that we can go up there and do what we can do.

“If we play to our capabilities we’ve got that mental strength and hopefully we can get the three points.

“It’s a bit closer to home for me but I think it’s too far for the folks to come down!”