BURNLEY'S players know they need to improve performances despite a return of seven points from their last three games, according to James Tarkowski.

The Clarets have steadied the ship in the weeks before the international break, moving off the bottom of the Premier League and clear of immediate trouble with wins against Bournemouth and Cardiff and a draw with Huddersfield.

But that positive points return can't disguise some below-par performances, particularly against the Bluebirds and the Terriers.

Tarkowski admits there are a few issues that need working on if the Clarets are to continue to pick up points and said the squad were aware that they aren't hitting the standards they expect so far this season.

"There are a few things. There's not just one thing that we need to change," said Tarkowski of the issues affecting the club.camer

"I think it's pretty obvious that we haven't been playing our best football but there are still positives to take when you're coming out with a point.

"A few weeks ago we were right at the bottom of it and people were tipping us to go down. Three weeks on we've got another seven points on the board and we're moving up the league quite nicely.

"There are less people talking about us in a negative way but we know ourselves that we certainly need to improve."

Burnley have certainly shown a greater resilience in recent weeks. They were ruthless at both ends in the 4-0 win over Bournemouth and fought for the three points in a poor game at Cardiff.

Crucially the Clarets have stemmed the flow of goals they were conceded, but the next target is to be better going forward, with Burnley struggling to create chances against Huddersfield last weekend once Sam Vokes had headed them into a 20th minute lead.

"We've restricted the goals going in to the back of our net which at the start of the season was a problem," said Tarkowski, who has withdrawn from England duty this week as he continues to manage a groin problem.

"That's obviously improved and now we need to improve on our forward play a bit more and try keeping the ball. Seven points from our last three games is a positive when you're not playing great.

"I think we've always been good at coming away with points when we've not been at our best. That's a part of what we're about but we'd much prefer to be performing well every week and winning."

Tarkowski might sound disappointed at Burnley's recent displays, but that is simply a sign of the standards that have been set at Turf Moor in recent campaigns.

"We're not so much deflated, we just want to be at our best," the 25-year-old said.

"When we're not doing that is when it's more of the problem. We're not too down about things after picking up seven points."

Once Vokes had scored against Huddersfield last weekend the visitors gradually began to take control, with Christopher Schindler heading in a second half equaliser.

Although the Terriers saw plenty of the ball Tarkowski felt the Clarets had been comfortable until they conceded.

"We got the goal and felt pretty comfortable. Even though they had quite a lot of the ball I never felt we were in too much danger," he added.

"There were a couple of half chances from our mistakes but they weren't exactly cutting us open. Once the goal goes in it changes the game a little bit and they started to dominate from there. We'll take the positives from the point and move forward."