BRIAN Stock believes Burnley boss Sean Dyche is instilling all the qualities required to mount a promotion push.

The Clarets go into this afternoon’s game at Nottingham Forest five points off the play-offs having lost a little ground with back-to-back draws.

But Stock (pictured left) says their three-game unbeaten mini-run, which includes coming back from behind to secure a point at home to rivals Blackburn last weekend, proves they are becoming harder to beat.

And the 30-year-old feels that resilient attitude will make Burnley one of the ones to watch in the second half of the season.

“I’ve played in this league for the last four or five years, I’ve never been involved with a team that’s got such a good chance of pushing for the play-offs,” he said.

“I know we’re a few points off the play-offs but since the new manager has come in we’re a lot stronger and more solid as a team.

“He’s brought an attitude and a desire. He wants 100 per cent effort no matter what we do, whether it’s in a meeting, or running or football training - whatever it is he wants us to do we do it for a reason and we do it hard.

“He’s got that mentality into us and you can tell with the way the players have taken to it that fitness is starting to get better, the tempo we have in games is good and that’s definitely come from his style, what he wants and the way he's gone about his training.

“We’re conceding less goals, and when you've got the likes of Charlie Austin up front and the other players like Martin Paterson and Ross Wallace, who are playing in that formation at the moment, you’ve always got a goal threat.

“Obviously the league is tight - it always is in this league and it's a tough league. Back-to-back victories in this league are very rare, so if we can do that we can certainly push up the league.”

And Stock hopes to start at Forest this afternoon, where the Welsh international midfielder is set to face his former Bournemouth and Doncaster Rovers manager, Sean O’Driscoll, for the first time.

“I know him very well, since I was about 15 years old,” Stock said.

“He’s taught me quite a lot of stuff about the game. I basically owe my playing career to Sean O’Driscoll, in the early parts of my career.

“This is probably the first game I’ve come up against him.

“I’m desperate to beat him.

“It’s not a case of proving myself because I think you need to do that on a daily basis.

“It’s mainly for the three points. I’m desperate for the team to do well. We're in touching distance of the play-offs and if we can string one or two results together we can climb up that league.

“We've put in a number of good performances in recent weeks and I don’t see why we can’t go to Forest and get a result.

“They’re a very good side and it’s going to be a tough game, but if we stick to what we do we'll be okay.”