SEAN Dyche was pleased his players worked their way back in to the game to earn a draw at Nottingham Forest.

The Clarets trailed to Daryl Murphy’s first half goal as Forest deservedly went in ahead having had the better of things before the break.

But Burnley improved in the second period and levelled through Andre Gray just before the hour.  Thereafter, the visitors enjoyed the better territory, and chances, as they ended the game strongly.

And Dyche said: “I’m really pleased.

“They (Forest) are a week away from their season and first half they were sharper than us.

“We worked the players very hard on Thursday so we were expecting a bit of fatigue and it showed first half.

“Second half we were better tactically and physically and overall I am pleased.

“It’s hard as a manager because the key is to get them fit but fans still look at results, we have to look at performances, who is looking sharp, but the overall thing is to come out of these games injury free and with minutes in their legs.

“There were important minutes for Phil Bardsley. He’s done some heavy work since he’s been in which is why he didn’t get as much game-time and for all those reasons we have to ensure that the players are getting the appropriate minutes at the appropriate time.

“Second half were very good.”

Dyche went with a 4-3-3 formation in the first half, with Jon Walters, Ashley Barnes and Andre Gray all included from the start.

They reverted back to 4-4-2 following the introductions of Robbie Brady and Scott Arfield after the break, with Dyche revealing his first-half system was largely down to the players he wanted to give extended minutes to.

He added: “To be honest some of that was borne out of getting players the right minutes on the pitch.

“The other is to see if we can be flexible, we used it a bit last season and did ok, got some decent results.

“But it’s about whether we can morph that in to something more active, particularly at home, but part of it was purely to get the right players on the pitch and to do that it worked out.

“Second half it was better, first half we played at times, but gave it away too flippantly at times, they looked like they were a week in advance of us to be honest and we didn’t get it right tactically.

“Second half there were better signs, we kept the ball better and were a bit more composed in the final third of the pitch, but first half they were the better side and that is good for us because it reminds us each week the challenge which comes our way steps up so we will see what Tuesday brings.”

Forest were bright, particularly in the first half, and Dyche was pleased with the challenge they offered.

“I like Mark’s teams, the formula they used was a bit Premier League like.

“They play expansive, they play out from the back, building from the back third.

“Second half they couldn’t really do that but first half they did it well.

“That was good for us because it reminds us of the realities of the Premier League.

“Their challenge is to get out of the Championship and ours is maintain and build on what we did last season.”