A CRUCIAL WEEK

AFTER last weekend’s come-from-behind draw at Cardiff the Clarets could point to maintaining their unbeaten run, and doing so in some style with two goals in the last five minutes in South Wales.

But Saturday’s derby day defeat to Preston shows how one result can change the perception of the efforts that come before. What before Saturday was a nine-game unbeaten is now four games without a win, Burnley’s longest winless Championship stretch since November 2013.

Having briefly climbed into the top two at the start of November, a run of three points from a possible 12 has seen the gap widen to five points.

The Clarets themselves have a five-point buffer on those chasing the play-off positions, but the next seven days are a crucial period for Sean Dyche’s side as they try and end what has become a mini rut.

On Saturday they travel to an in-form Queens Park Rangers, with a new manager in the dugout, before travelling north four days later to face Middlesbrough, who currently sit in second.

 

CLEAN SHEETS

BURNLEY’S promotion of two years ago was in part down to a frugal defence who laid a platform for Sam Vokes and Danny Ings to score the goals that secured a place in the top two.

After 19 games of the 2013/14 season the Clarets had already kept nine clean sheets and conceded just 13 goals.

We are now at the same stage of this campaign and there have been just five clean sheets, with 19 goals conceded.

The platform isn’t there as often as it was two years ago, and that is making it much tougher to secure results when Burnley are not at their best, which will happen in this division.

With Jason Shackell and Kieran Trippier departing in the summer the back four has had a minor reshuffle this term, but Tendayi Darikwa and Matt Lowton offer good competition at right-back, while Michael Keane and Michael Duff have played together before.

 

THE BURDEN ON GRAY

CHANCES came and went on Saturday and there has become something of a Turf Moor burden on Andre Gray.

The £6 million striker has had a fine start to his Clarets career, especially at home, but since the end of September only Gray and Matt Taylor have scored at Turf Moor for Burnley.

Gray has seven goals in that time and Taylor came off the bench to score in the final minute at Fulham.

The former Brentford striker was restricted to only one good chance on Saturday.

Others had opportunities, with Joey Barton frustrated at missing a good opportunity and Sam Vokes brilliantly denied by Jordan Pickford, but with Gray failing to find the back of the net at home it meant the Clarets failed to score, and with clean sheets harder to come by that is a concern.