MATCH-WINNER Ashley Barnes declared it is down to Sean Dyche that Burnley have not lost their focus in their quest for automatic promotion.

A win on Saturday at home to Middlesbrough could be enough to secure Premier League football next season, should Derby drop points.

Yet a block on all talk of going up is still in place among the management and playing staff at Turf Moor.

And Barnes says it is important that policy does not change, because it has been key in keeping their eyes on the ball.

“It’s one game at a time and we all look at that. The manager’s drummed that into us and we take it into the next game,” said Barnes, whose early header from Michael Kightly's ball was enough to sink relegation threatened Barnsley and put Burnley on the brink of the Prmier League.

“It was a fantastic feeling. The delivery from Kights was sublime. It was just amazing to get on the end of it and guide it in, especially in front of the fans, it was just brilliant.

“To beat the defender to the ball was brilliant, to see it hit the back of the net was a great feeling.”

Barnes, who could be seen as a promotion talisman having been instrumental in Brighton twice going up to the Championship in his four-and-a-half years with the club, might have doubled Burnley’s lead following good work from the fit-again Danny Ings on his return to the side.

“I was just hoping it was going to drop in from Ingsy because it was a fantastic move from the boys and the finish would have been out of this world,” he said.

“I wanted it to go in but I was in two minds what to do, and then I fluffed it at the end and I put it wide.

“Luckily enough the boys defended well. Tom Heaton and the back four were fantastic. You’ve got to give them credit, they put a lot of balls into the box and they defended really well.”

Meanwhile, manager Dyche revealed it was his decision not to start Kieran Trippier. The right back returned to the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury but was named on the bench, with recent signing Chris Baird remaining at right back.

“Kieran wanted to play but I made the decision, I felt he’d only had a couple of days’ real training, and felt it was too early,” said the Burnley boss. “We were just careful.”