BURNLEY have set their sights on a top half finish in the Premier League, according to Clarets winger George Boyd.

The 31-year-old scored the goal that eased relegation fears around Turf Moor on Tuesday night and then said the Clarets squad were aiming for the top 10 rather than looking over their shoulders.

The win over Stoke City moved Burnley to within a point of the Potters, and although a run of seven Premier League games without a win had seen their lead over the bottom three cut to five points, Boyd insists the focus had always been on looking up.

And he said a team meeting held earlier in the campaign had been the catalyst for the aim to break into the top half, just as a meeting after the Boxing Day defeat at Hull City last season sparked a 23-game unbeaten surge to the Championship title.

“A few teams are putting wins together but we looked at it and we knew a win would take us a point behind Stoke and they were ninth,” Boyd said.

“We’re only looking up and if we can get a top 10 finish it will be fantastic.

“We’ve taken huge strides since we were last up, it just shows where the club is going.

“Everyone thought we would finish bottom so just to be five points clear before Tuesday night was huge for us.

“We’re showing we belong at this level.

“As a club we had a meeting about six months ago looking at the teams in the bottom half and we feel we can finish top of our mini-league and we feel we’re better than most of the teams at the bottom. We’re on course for that and hopefully we will do that.

“It would be a great statement and something to build on, but first and foremost it’s about staying in the league.”

Although the Clarets have their sights set on bigger things Boyd was aware of the nerves around Turf Moor ahead of the clash with Stoke, and he knows how big a victory it was.

“It was a relief, we knew how big the game was, it eased the whole place,” he said.

“We don’t feel as if we’re in a relegation scrap but it eases everyone, the fans as well, there was a bit of tension tonight and a bit nervy, it’s a huge win.”

The victory moved Burnley on to 35 points and two ahead of the total they achieved in the 2014/15 campaign, with seven games still to go.

Boss Sean Dyche felt that was a big staging post for his side and Boyd can see the improvements.

“It’s about progressing every year, we were champions last year and we’re beating all sorts of records this year. It’s a club going places,” he said.