Sean Dyche addresses link between the absence of fans and Burnley's poor start to the campaign

Burnley have claimed just two points from their opening seven fixtures and sit in the bottom three ahead of this evening's clash with Crystal Palace at Turf Moor.

The Clarets have lost all three Premier League matches at home so far this term and have won just once on their own patch in nine attempts since fans were restricted from attending games.

Dyche, however, believes it's too early to assume that the absence of a crowd is having a direct impact on their fortunes.

"We just crack on and work as hard as we can to get the next result," he said. "Over a season's work, we'll probably know more, certainly by the halfway point, what effect the fans are having because they can't be in the stadium.

"Hopefully, in the new year there might be better news about fans coming to stadiums.

"But whether there's fans in or not, we've got to make sure we correct anything that's going on and the first thing is to win games, regardless of whether it's home or away."

Burnley have lost four on the bounce at home without scoring, including against Manchester City in the League Cup.

Prior to that they had lost just once in eight league games when Brighton came out on top on the final day of the 2019/20 campaign.

Dyche said: "Historically, is home form helpful? Yes it is. If you look across the Premier League or any level of football, most teams have a more productive home record than away record, statistically, therefore it is important.

"If your fans help with that, which I think they probably do, not just Burnley fans, then that would be beneficial.

"As they're not in the stadium then we just crack on and work as hard as we can to get the next result."