STEVEN DEFOUR

Of all the changes made by Sean Dyche the decision to drop the Belgium midfielder was the most intriguing one, for the questions it raises.

If a central midfielder was to make way to revert to 4-4-2 then on a technical level Defour wasn’t the most obvious candidate. His influence on the Clarets has been clear to see.

Unfortunately his influence still doesn’t equate to a full 90 minutes, and he is still getting to grips with the physicality and demands of the Premier League. That will only be exaggerated in a two-man midfield.

Defour’s quality is clear to see, but strides still need to be taken on the fitness front.

SOFT GOALS

Life in the Premier League is hard enough without gifting the opposition the advantage.

Central defence is a strong area for this Clarets side but too many soft goals are being conceded. The move Stoke put together for their second goal was a good one, but Marc Muniesa ran the length of the pitch without anyone getting to grips with him.

If you’re having to work hard to create chances and score goals then you have to make sure it’s the same case for the opposition.

That has not been the case. Even the goals conceded to Manchester City last week were veering towards the ‘soft’ category.

WIDTH

Burnley tried hard to recruit a pacey winger in the summer, but it just wasn’t to be. But that area of the side has to remain the number one priority in January.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson has added a touch of creativity, while the workrate of George Boyd and Scott Arfield is impressive, but the Clarets need more from wide areas, they need a bit of an x factor.

At the moment full-backs can defend against Burnley’s wide men confident in the belief that they won’t be beaten for pace and they won’t be stretched.

Adding some unpredictably and, crucially, some pace to the Burnley attack will give them a different dimension and will help on the counter attack away from home as well.