I WAS critical of Ashley Barnes early in the season but I wouldn’t just discard him now when Sam Vokes returns to the first team.

When Sam is ready I would put him on the bench, and keep Ashley in the starting line-up for now.

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Ashley deserves his chance after the vital goals he has scored, including his winner against Southampton on Saturday.

He puts massive effort in up front, he is working so hard.

It’s a difficult role playing up front on his own. I know he has got Danny Ings alongside him, but Danny is running about all over the place. Danny was tremendous on Saturday.

We need to reignite the Vokes-Ings partnership but if Danny leaves, maybe it will be a Vokes-Barnes partnership at some point.

Danny is being linked with Ajax now and I think he is at that level now. He is good enough to play for a club like Ajax and he will keep getting better.

If there is any truth in it, it must be tempting for Danny. It would be a great move for him, he’s playing with good players already but he would be playing with even better players and developing.

It’s a short career and Ajax are a massive club, they’re always in the top European competitions and they’re the club that developed Johan Cruyff.

I played against Cruyff on his debut for Holland. We went over there for a World Cup qualifier but we didn’t get beat, we got a draw. That Cruyff wouldn’t have got in Burnley’s reserve team! I’m only joking of course, he was a great player.

I hope Danny stays at Burnley but there hasn’t been much talk about him signing a new contract and I wonder whether his head has been turned. I used to get clubs ringing me up at home, sometimes virtually every night, so these things do happen.

I’m not saying he’ll go to Holland but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he joined another Premier League club in the summer. There’s not a lot Burnley could do about that.

Meanwhile, what a signing Tom Heaton has been for the club. I need only one word to describe his penalty save on Saturday - superb.

He is talking constantly and gives confidence to the defenders to go and attack the ball. Jason Shackell and Michael Keane did a great job against Southampton.

We’ve got four tough games now against Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle. If we could get six points that would be a great return.