CLARETS reporter Tyrone Marshall discusses the talking points from Burnley's Carabao Cup exit to Burton Albion.

Cup record

There’s not been a great deal to complain about in the Sean Dyche era at Turf Moor, but that short list is certainly topped by an abysmal record in domestic cup competitions.

The Clarets have won just seven FA Cup and League Cup matches under Dyche, with three of those coming in the League Cup in his first full season in the job.

That reduces the recent run to just four cup wins in the last nine FA and League Cup campaigns. It doesn’t make for pretty reading.

Since that early League Cup run under Dyche the Clarets have now lost six of their last seven in this competition, with the only win coming at Ewood Park last year, when there was more than simply cup passage on the line.

Putting your finger on exactly why the cup record is so bad is difficult. Dyche has always prioritised the league campaigns, whether trying to get out of the Championship or stay in the Premier League, but the greater squad depth built up in recent seasons has resulted in better sides being fielded in cup competitions.

That has made little difference though. FA Cup defeat to non-league Lincoln City is undoubtedly the nadir for Burnley, but Dyche’s side have now lost to six lower league sides in the past five seasons, with this season’s FA Cup campaign still to come. It’s a record that is nowhere near good enough.

Defour

In terms of picking out a highlight from the Pirelli Stadium there can be only one - the return of Steven Defour.

The Belgian maestro makes the Clarets tick when he’s on the field and he was the centre of attention last night. Twice he produced smart passes to set up goals for Chris Wood and Kevin Long to score, only for both to be ruled out for offside, with some doubt about the flag that denied Wood.

Defour was also happy to go searching for the ball, dropping towards the central defenders to pick up position and even out wide to the full-back areas, desperate to dictate the tempo of the game.

It was an encouraging 70 minutes for the 30-year-old, but the next step is to see how Dyche gets him back into the Premier League side.

The Turf Moor boss has always been reluctant to field Defour in a two-man midfield, but with Matej Vydra looking like he’s making a strong case for taking the number 10 role, behind either Sam Vokes or Chris Wood, it looks playing two central midfielders is the way forward for Dyche at the moment. Can he get Defour into one of those positions? Time will tell.

Taking your chances

It’s been a recurring theme this season. Against Bournemouth last weekend Burnley were finally ruthless in front of goal again, putting the Cherries away comfortably.

But it was back to the wasteful ways of the early weeks of the season at Burton, with the Clarets missing a number of presentable chances and paying the price.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson should probably have scored and killed the tie just moments before Liam Boyce equalised, while even at 1-1 Ashley Barnes, Ashley Westwood and Chris Wood all went close in a matter of minutes before Albion showed the visitors how it’s done, taking another of their rare chances to seal progression.

If Burnley continue to miss the chances they are creating then it’s going to be a long season.

Concentration

At the other end Dyche highlighted the issue of concentration as Burnley went from a position of control in this game to finding themselves on the wrong end of an upset.

Until the hour mark Burton’s threat had been pretty limited, but the Clarets found themselves on the wrong end of a counter attack for the equaliser.

Then, just as it looked like we were set for a penalty shootout, came the Brewers’ winner. Burnley had chances to clear and failed to do so, with Jamie Allen running untracked from midfield to find space between Kevin Long and Ben Mee before poking the ball home.

It was two sloppy goals to concede.

Fans

Finally a word for the just over 1,000 Clarets who made the trip to Staffordshire on Tuesday night and seemed to enjoy themselves, despite the efforts of their team.

Back on a terrace away from the sterility of the Premier League the visiting fans made plenty of noise and without their presence it would have been a very strange atmosphere, with little heard from the Burton fans until the final minutes.