KEVIN LONG

In his seven years at Turf Moor Long has made more appearances for Accrington Stanley than he has for Burnley. It's an unusual stat and shows how patient the Cork man has had to be.

Stanley are one of five different clubs he has been out on loan at in a bid to prove himself and rebuild his fitness.

This was only a 19th league start for Long at Burnley and his first, incredibly, since December 2013, but he showed no signs of nerves or rust to turn in an accomplished display that suggests he could well play at this level.

The first Premier League start was made all the sweeter given the bad luck which befell him when he came off the bench at Newcastle on New Year's Day 2015, in the Clarets last top flight season.

Injuries had opened up a chance for Long on that occasion, but he lasted 20 minutes before being stretchered off in agony with a cruciate knee ligament injury. Saturday was well deserved.

MIDFIELD COMBINATION

It's early days for the partnership of Jeff Hendrick and Ashley Westwood but on the performances against Palace and West Brom there is plenty of potential there.

So far the two have dovetailed nicely and they both have good all-round games, meaning they can cover for each other and operate either deep or further forward.

Westwood arrived at Turf Moor on the back of a difficult few months at Aston Villa but he looks a man reborn now and his last couple of performances have been full of energy and desire. He's more than made up for the loss of Joey Barton.

Hendrick also played with a bit of a swagger on Saturday. It was noticeable he was regularly dropping deep to either collect the ball off the centre backs or give an option, and he was confident when receiving it under pressure, looking to take men out of the game and drive Burnley forward.

SAFETY

It's all over bar the shouting. Burnley are safe. The goal difference advantage over Hull has seen to that.

Footballers are a superstitious bunch though and the Clarets couldn't quite bring themselves to shout it from the rooftop on Saturday.

Sean Dyche admitted it was 'pretty much' done, but said he would like it mathematically confirmed, while for Sam Vokes it was 'you never say never in football'.

It is simply a matter of time before safety is confirmed on points as well as goal difference and it's going to be an achievement worth celebrating. To reach 40 points two games from the end of the season is a fine achievement.

It would have been nice to have beaten the Baggies on Saturday for a true survival party, but the point was good enough for most.