BURNLEY boss Sean Dyche was pleased with his side’s mentality and focus in the weekend defeat to Manchester City despite falling to a 4-1 reverse.

The Clarets threatened an upset in the opening 55 minutes and led thanks to Ashley Barnes’ first half thunderbolt.

But Pep Guardiola’s side responded after the break and two quickfire Sergio Aguero goals, the first coming after a controversial quickly-taken free kick, turned the ride in City’s favour.

Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva added further goals to send the home side through and Burnley out but Clarets chief Dyche was pleased with what he saw from his squad, missing several players due to injury.

He said: “56 minutes in, you’d have been looking at our team thinking ‘that’s a team that plays together, that knows how they play, that are organised.

“That’s really pleasing for me and my coaches.

“When your team is at its most stretched, and yet they are operating how a team should, or how I think it should, I’m very pleased with that.

“You’re not going to come to places like this every week.

“We’ve still got some of the big superpowers to play, but our mentality is growing, not just our performances.”

The Turf chief has seen his side lose twice at the Etihad this season but the Clarets have won at Chelsea while earning draws away from home at Manchester United, Spurs and Liverpool, proving that they can match the best teams the Premier League has to offer.

And Dyche said the biggest learning curve in facing the top flight’s leading lights was the amount of concentration required to compete.

Asked if the City game had provided a lesson for his players he said: “I think there’s nothing they don’t know, you’ve just got to stay focused all the time.

“Especially against teams like this. It can be flat, it can be quiet, and then three, four passes, three, four movements, and suddenly it’s a goal.

“The higher up our learning, it’s that constant concentration and focus. It has improved considerably.”

Burnley, seventh in the top flight table, resume their Premier League campaign this weekend when they make the trip to a Crystal Palace side who have improved under Roy Hodgson in recent weeks.