MICHAEL Duff says that he is relishing his second chance at the Premier League, and no wonder. For the defender has been a real top performer for the Clarets so far this season.

He has been an unsung hero of the club over his many years’ service.

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He is an honest player who gets on with his job, and I believe he is one of those players that seems to be getting better with age.

After playing his part in a total of 19 clean sheets in the Championship last season he has transferred that form into the top flight.

To keep Wayne Rooney and company quiet and record a shut-out against Manchester United is no mean feat.

To go on and do the same at Crystal Palace, where Wilfried Zaha would be looking to star on his return, shows how resilient these Clarets are under Sean Dyche.

The partnership between Duff and Jason Shackell continues to impress. They are hard to break down.

The pair have a really good understanding and I believe they bring the best out of each other to provide a the cornerstone of a solid looking back four, with Kieran Trippier and Ben Mee growing into their new surroundings.

It is difficult to step up to a higher level but they are adapting well and showing that they belong there.

All in all we did a great job at Palace, where new signing George Boyd also caught the eye.

After keeping the home side out in the first half Burnley’s confidence grew in the second and Julian Speroni had to make a couple of saves, including Scott Arfield’s penalty.

Scott did everything right, except put it into the back of the net, but he shouldn’t get too down about it. Even I missed one once, and it was a spectacular save from the keeper.

Sunderland are next up on Saturday, back at Turf Moor, and I feel this will be the day when we get that first win.

The goals will come.

We have a problem if Danny Ings is out for a couple of weeks with that hamstring problem, but we have Marvin Sordell and Lukas Jutkiewicz - who cost us £2million combined - to make the strikeforce their own if they can start scoring regularly. This is a big chance for them.

But if we continue to replicate the team efforts that we’ve shown so far the future looks bright for us.

The manager has put a good squad together and made them into one big, happy family, just like it was for us under Harry Potts and his coaching staff in the 60s. He had us all enjoying each and every game and looking forward to them.