Lee Grant looks to put things right

The Clarets fell to a 2-0 defeat at the title-chasers, but it was the manner of the setback which was most disappointing.

Eddie Howe’s men were well below par against a side who turned in one of their best performances of the season, but Burnley have the chance to put that to bed against the Tykes, who won 2-0 at Oakwell in the reverse fixture.

Grant, who was the pick of the players at St Mary’s, said: “We have a nice early chance to put things right and we will look to do that.

“I think we came up against one of the best sides in the league and also a side that played exceptionally well.

“Couple that with a poor start from us and you get the result we had.

“It would be nice to compare yourselves with the best sides in this division and undoubtedly they are one of those sides.

“And we didn’t do ourselves justice really, which is a shame because we haven’t been like that that over the last eight or 10 weeks in the good period we’ve had.”

Burnley and Barnsley are the only sides not to have lost a single Championship game by more than two goals this season, but Grant felt that statistic was at risk at Southampton: “We started fairly brightly in the second half but by the high standards we set it still wasn’t enough.

“We have played exceptionally well in the last few weeks and the second half was a spirited attempt but it still wasn’t enough, especially against a side that is doing so well.

“We had to make sure the score didn’t run away from us because at one point it did look like that could happen. We dug in.

“They were in their stride early and we weren’t. We struggled to combat their strengths.

“It was difficult really to put our finger on what went wrong. There were a few areas where we came up short.”

He added: “There was maybe a bit of disorganisation as a side. We were well briefed before the game on what was asked of us and we knew our roles coming into it.

“But we came out onto the pitch and for whatever reason we didn’t seem to look like we knew what was being asked of us.

“It’s a shame because up until Saturday we have been very organised.

“We’ve got players that are old enough and been around the block enough to try to pull people in the right direction.

“Tonight is a chance for us to put it right and we’ll be working doubly hard to make sure we’re all doing our jobs individually, and collectively that will give us a better chance.

“We look to win all our home games. It’s a big game for us and one we will be looking to get three points.”

The former Derby and Sheffield Wednesday stopper is in a good vein of form, and while there was no clean sheet on Saturday, his performance was impressive nonetheless.

It meant little in the final reckoning, however: “You’re in the spotlight a little bit more when you come under pressure.

“There were a few good saves but it was a disappointing outcome.”