Norwich City 2, Burnley 0: Chris Boden on a day of despair at Carrow Road

However, to quote Jurgen Klopp, talking about Liverpool’s recent run: "Momentum is the most fragile flower on the planet.

“Someone steps on it and then it’s gone.

“I’m not a big friend of momentum.

“Just find a way to get through it."

Unfortunately, the Clarets were unable to find a way to get through it at Carrow Road, as the Canaries stamped all over any hopes of moving back within a point of the Toffees.

With eight games to play, a four-point gap is not insurmountable, but it felt like a chasm on Sunday night.

And you wonder whether this setback was the death knell for Burnley’s hopes of avoiding a return to the Championship after six years.

Right now, you would imagine it would take maybe four wins from the final eight games to give the Clarets a chance of survival.

But when you have only won four of 30, it puts it all into perspective.

Ultimately, Burnley have not been good enough to even find the net against bottom side Norwich this season, picking up just one point, while they also failed to score against Watford at home, and at Newcastle, when the Magpies were bottom.

The Clarets have now lost at Norwich, Brentford, Leeds, Newcastle and Everton, drawing at home to Norwich, Watford and Leeds.

That is a damning indictment of Burnley’s credentials in what has been a season too far at this level, with this squad.

Time and again they have failed to punish sides in poor runs of form.

Newcastle claimed their first clean sheet and win of the season against the Clarets in December.

Watford claimed a first clean sheet in 31 games at Turf Moor in February.

And Norwich had claimed just two points from eight games - the poorest form of any Premier League side before Sunday.

Struggling for goals or wins? Not to worry, here come Burnley…

This was again the Clarets’ season in microcosm.

They started with good intent against Norwich, enjoying good possession and territory.

But they conceded an unfortunate deflected opener to Pierre Lees-Melou, the ball spinning past Nick Pope off Josh Brownhill’s studs - albeit Lees-Melou had too much time and space on the edge of the area.

Burnley recovered to continue to take the game to the Canaries, but struggled to create any clear-cut openings, although they had a number of near misses, with former Claret Ben Gibson twice getting in the way of goal bound efforts, while Maxwel Cornet stung the palms of Tim Krul from a tight angle after being played in by Jay Rodriguez on the counter.

Goal scoring has been an issue all season, especially away from home, where Burnley had had the fewest shots and lowest expected goals.

Indeed, only Norwich had had fewer shots on target on the road than the Clarets.

And when you go in 1-0 down at half-time, against a side happy to bank in and play on the counter attack, the Clarets were up against it at the break – especially when you consider Burnley had never come back to win away from home in the Premier League, when behind at the interval, drawing nine and losing 55.

But, they had shown real resolve to recover from 2-1 down against Everton to win at Turf Moor just four days earlier, with Cornet the hero, firing home from Matej Vydra’s superb pull back five minutes from time.

The Ivorian had the best chance of the game to level matters just after the hour, as substitute Dwight McNeil robbed Sam Byram and drove into space, before feeding over a glorious ball, which demanded a finish.

However, Cornet couldn’t apply the finishing touch with his right foot, and could scarcely believe it himself as he sat, head in hands.

The Clarets put Norwich under relentless pressure at times, but for Grant Hanley and Gibson, it was meat and drink as Burnley showed little invention or craft.

And as they pushed forward in a desperate search for the equaliser, they were open at the back, despite Rolls-Royce performances from stand-in skipper James Tarkowski and Nathan Collins.

Norwich had what Burnley lacked, a stone-cold killer in the box in Teemu Pukki, and when his chance came, found in acres of space by a Mathias Normann throughball, the Finn produced an unerring finish beyond Pope.

Burnley still had moments, with Vydra unlucky to see his header drop against the bar and over, with Ashley Barnes waiting for a tap in, but at the end, the Clarets finished goal-less for the 15th time in 30 games, which again underlines the struggles Dyche’s side have had.

And things don’t get any easier.

Although Burnley play three times before Leeds play again – sitting nine points behind the Whites – in which time Everton play once, the Clarets face a tough assignment at West Ham on Easter Sunday, who are top five in terms of home form.

And they then host Southampton in a re-arranged game, before Wolves – with the fifth-best away record – come to Turf Moor.

You have to hope there is some truth in Dyche’s musings that: "The freedom to go and score a goal has been the biggest thing all season – if anything, when these go against you, more people write you off, on the outside, so if you ever want freedom and that mentality that everyone is giving you no chance, it will come our way, and it is doing.

"If you're ever going to take it on, now is the time to say 'well, if everyone thinks we've got no chance, what's the worst that can happen?'”