SEAN Dyche has praised the defensive work of James Tarkowski after he turned in another impressive performance in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Tarkowski was named man of the match by Sky Sports pundits for his display at the back for the Clarets, and particularly the way he marshalled the threat of Palace danger man Christian Benteke.

The 24-year-old has been handed a show of faith by Dyche as the man to replace Michael Keane, with the Burnley boss keeping his powder dry in the transfer market when it came to signing a replacement this summer.

And Dyche believes he has unearthed another defender who can do the dirty work of the job at the back, alongside the ability on the ball that has seen Tarkowski play in midfield previously and which Dyche insists will be an asset for the Clarets this season.

"Defending is a dying art, and I think it's a massively important part of the game," the Burnley boss said.

"You can ask coaches across the country, the one thing they're struggling for is defenders who can defend and want to defend.

"We've definitely worked on that with our centre halves, all of them, I know Tarky can play, we know we can play more than we did (on Sunday) as a collective, and he'll play his part in that.

"But his defending, the little details I look for in a defender, as with Keano, Ben Mee, Longy, even Duffo, we were still talking to him about details when he was 36, 37. I have a lot of belief in our defenders defending, and Tarky was a good show of that."