Match-winner Ashley Barnes happy to send Burnley fans home happy after netting a brace in derby against Blackburn Rovers

The 33-year-old striker, who hadn’t scored in 13 league appearances for the Clarets this term, scored two second half goals as Vincent Kompany’s Championship leaders hammered Blackburn Rovers at Turf Moor.

Incredibly, despite the forward’s longevity at the club, it was only his second start in the East Lancashire derby, having accompanied Jonathan Walters up front in the League Cup tie at Ewood Park in 2017.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion frontman, who will celebrate 10 years at Burnley in January, headed home the opener from Anass Zaroury’s cross in the 55th minute before adding a third nine minutes from time.

After Zaroury had guided home the second with a quarter-of-an-hour of the game remaining — with Barnes denied by Thomas Kaminski just seconds before — the striker used all of his experience to take a touch from Josh Brownhill’s pass, to take Callum Britain out of the equation, before converting.

"It's incredible,” he said. “We've been here a long time, it's been 10 years in January, so it's something special. I've given a lot to this club and what they've given to me is such a special thing. Long may it continue, I just want to try to keep going.

"I've had my conversations with the manager at the start of the season, but you want to help the team out, you want to do everything right. I didn't know until this morning that I was going to get the chance and luckily enough I took it. I've paid the fans back.

"It was amazing, everyone wants to play in these derby games, especially here [at Turf Moor], so we can make the fans happy, it's something special. It's incredible, it's always amazing here, and this season we've given them a lot of joy.

"Everyone is buzzing in that changing room, to get those bragging rights was a special moment to top everything off."