BURNLEY go to Wembley to face Tottenham Hotspur as underdogs. But manager Sean Dyche believes with that, comes a freedom to play.

The Clarets are just beginning to settle down after a European adventure meant a hectic start to the season.

But they take on Spurs with renewed confidence after earning their first win in nine games, thanks to last week’s 1-0 triumph over Brighton at Turf Moor.

Dyche knows the challenge does not get any easier, as tomorrow’s game is swiftly followed by another trip to the capital before Christmas to take on Arsenal.

However, with the gap from the top six to the rest of the Premier League pack becoming increasingly wide in Dyche’s view, the pressure on the Clarets is diminished.

“There is the most evident gap for the first time this season with the recognised six. I think Tottenham are having a fine start. They had a great result (1-1 draw away to Barcelona in the Champions League) the other night.

“I really like the way they go about their business. I think the manager (Mauricio Pochettino) plays direct football but in a passing style. I think if they can get from A to B quickly they do and they are effective within that, the tempo of how they play.

“On the other hand we go there with a bit more freedom, the expectation changes. From last week against Brighton when there was heavy expectation to get a result it changes at places like Tottenham and that gives us that little edge of freedom to take the game on and hopefully deliver a very good performance because we’ll need to against sides like that.”

But Dyche has noticed an overall shift in expectation since the start of the season failed to mirror that of the previous campaign in which they finished seventh.

“I think it’s gone the other way now. There’s a bit more noise about ‘well where did you think Burnley were in the bigger picture of it?’,” he said.

“I’m stuck in the middle of it in the sense that as a manager I think we’ve earned the right at times to not be considered so much underdogs, but here we are again being considered that because we’ve had a tough start for many different reasons.”

He added: “We’re working to get back to what we are and what we can be, still trying to add a next layer and improve, but sometimes you’ve got to get back to the basic principles of what you stand for and we’re kind of getting back there.

“Once you get that you’re looking for the players to have that bit of freedom and go and show what they can do and express themselves. That’s when a solid performance turns into a very good performance when those players do that.”