Burnley show fighting spirit needed to beat relegation

Burnley boss Sean Dyche has done a fantastic job at Turf Moor

Burnley rescued a 2-2 draw against Leicester yesterday at the King Power Stadium.

The Clarets scored a 96^th minute equaliser through Scottish midfielder Ross Wallace. The Clarets are now second from bottom in the Premier League table.

Spirited

The display at Leicester was a spirited one and the team from Lancashire fought to the very end and got a hard earned point in the end.

The Clarets showed great spirit last season to win promotion to the Premier League and that team spirit will be needed to maintain their Premier League status.

Favourites

Sean Dyche’s men surprised everybody by winning promotion on a very small budget last season from the Championship and were instantly handed the tag of relegation favourites. The Clarets did bring players in this summer, but they have cut their cloth accordingly.

They have not spent money they do not have on expensive new signings. Instead they have been sensible and stuck with the majority of players who won the club promotion. The majority of those players have little to no top-flight experience.

That lack of top-flight experience and quality has shown at times for the team from Lancashire. However maybe it is just a case of some of the Burnley players adapting to the standard of Premier League, rather than the players not necessarily being good enough.

Unfortunate

To be fair to the Clarets they currently have a number of injuries to key players from last season. The strike-partnership of Danny Ings and Sam Vokes played a major part in promotion last season. The pair have been a big loss this season.

Both were expected to make a major impact on the top-flight this season. Ings scored 22 Championship goals last season, while Vokes also scored 20 goals. They were the most dangerous strike duo in the country.

Ings is close to a return to the team after a hamstring injury. The 22-year-old could return to action after the international break. That would be a boost for the Clarets. Vokes’ date of return from a knee injury is unknown.

Goals

Burnley’s struggle this season has been finding the back of the net. They had gone 565 minutes without scoring prior to their visit to the Midlands. It must be a relief for everybody connected with the club that their team have final broken their duck in front of goal.

Now that they have found their scoring touch Burnley will be looking to collect more points in the coming weeks. The potential return of Ings should help the Clarets look far more dangerous in attack.

Defence

Burnley has actually looked pretty solid in defence at times this season and has kept three clean sheets in their seven Premier League games so far this season. The record of three clean sheets this season is not a bad one for a newly promoted team.

The last few games the Clarets seem to have lost that defensive solidarity though. If they can recover their defensive strength and rediscover their scoring touch then the Clarets do have the potential to pick up points in the next few games.

Difficult

Like a lot of teams that get unexpectedly get promoted to the Premier League, they were maybe not prepared for the step-up in quality. Burnley did not have a fortune to spend on top-class players, so it was always going to be difficult for the Clarets.

However, it is not like they have made a disastrous start to their campaign. A few victories could move the Clarets into midtable in no time.

Burnley boss Sean Dyche is refreshing in his honesty and approach. He has done a fantastic job getting the Lancashire club into the Premier League and deserves immense credit.

They may have made a slow start to their Premier League campaign, but they have not been cut adrift at the bottom, despite not yet picking up a top-flight win this season.

The performance and result at fellow top-flight newcomers Leicester should give the Clarets a lift. Following the international break the Clarets have a very winnable home game against West Ham.

All is not lost for Sean Dyche’s team. They may not have yet claimed that illusive first Premier League victory this season, but the signs are that Burnley are certainly not going to go down without a fight.

Can Burnley survive the drop this season?