FORMER Turf Moor favourite Brian Jensen has urged Burnley not to doubt themselves, despite a winless start to the Premier League season.

The Clarets slipped back to the bottom of the table after experiencing their heaviest defeat under Sean Dyche on Sunday, losing 4-0 at West Bromwich Albion.

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The battle between two of his old clubs was not a pleasant one for Jensen to witness, not least because it stretched Burnley’s run without a league goal to 526 minutes.

The Clarets have come in for criticism for a ‘lack of ambition’ at the Hawthorns, where they played Lukas Jutkiewicz as a lone striker until the second half.

The injury-hit side were without a number of key players, including midfield pair Dean Marney and David Jones, joining Danny Ings and Sam Vokes on the list of casualties.

Although last season’s top scorer Ings is not expected back until after the international break, the Clarets will hope to have both Marney and Jones back in time for Saturday’s crunch clash at Leicester City.

Goalkeeper Jensen fears the recent casualties have highlighted shortfalls in the transfer market this summer.

“I don’t think the gaffer has had the financial backing. I think it’s a really tough one for him,” he said.

“You look at Leicester – one of the teams they’ve got to compete against - spending £8million on Leonardo Ulloa. That’s the difference. Burnley have not broken their transfer record from the last time they were promoted.

“I’m not saying go out and buy a £25m striker, but you’ve got to improve what you’ve already got and I don’t feel Burnley have done that.”

But the Dane, who spent 10 years at Turf Moor – including one in the Premier League, says the only way to get out of the rut before January is to stick together, on and off the pitch.

“The most important thing is they shouldn’t doubt themselves. They have to believe in what they are trying to achieve,” said Jensen, who is now with Crawley after joining Bury last season following his release from Turf Moor.

“You have to forget what people and the pundits are saying and just get back on the pitch and work hard.

“I firmly believe hard work will pay off, hopefully in an important game against Leicester.

“It’s going to be a tough one but they have to come out of it with at least a point.

“If they get a good win against Leicester it will break the cycle a little bit. Lose, and it’s a very long international break.”

Burnley were on the end of some heavy defeats in the 2009/10 season, losing 5-0 at Spurs, 5-2 at Aston Villa, 6-1 at home to Manchester City and 4-0 both home and away to Liverpool.

But on most occasions the Clarets responded with a win, and that is a pattern that Jensen says they must repeat again.

“They can get back on track. It happened when I was in the Premier League,” he said.

“The gaffer is the type to get them going again.”

Meanwhile, Burnley will assess the fitness of Nathaniel Chalobah ahead of Saturday’s trip to the King Power Stadium.

The on-loan Chelsea midfielder was loaded into an ambulance after the Under 21s Premier League Cup defeat at home to Hull City on Tuesday night for treatment to a throat injury.