NICK Pope insists Burnley have the character to pull through their rough patch and they can call on the experiences of last season to do it.

The Clarets find themselves 15th in the table, just three points above the relegation zone, following four successive defeats.

Sean Dyche’s side were in an equally precarious position last season at the turn of the year but recovered to eventually finish 15th place in the table.

And the England international says a good result - ideally against Leicester City at Turf Moor tomorrow - could act as a ‘springboard’ to boost their chances of climbing to safety.

“It’s still tight and it’s exactly the same for all the other teams in and around us,” Pope told the club’s website.

“One or two results can act as a springboard, but the season doesn’t end there.

“There’s still a long way to go and it’s definitely a bonus to be able to call upon past experiences.

“That gives you confidence in itself and can help you through difficult phases.

“You build your character going through those periods. We’ve all been here before, after losing a few games in a row, so it’s nothing new to us.

“It’s there to fall back on and hopefully pull you through. We all want things to change, so now it’s about staying calm and finding the best solution.”

Defeats to Everton, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Chelsea last weekend have seen Burnley slip from eighth to 15th.But Pope insists the Clarets can draw on their inner strength as they look to get back to winning ways.

“We’ve had a few defeats in a row and it’s a case of getting back on the training field and working hard to put that right,” said Pope, whose seven clean sheets this season is joint second best in the Premier League.

“Working hard is the biggest thing. Everything is rosy when you are winning, but when you lose a few, that’s when you have to dig deep within and find your character.

“We’ve got plenty of that in abundance and hopefully the next win is just around the corner.

“We have done well in the last few years to stay in this league and keep picking up points and in the first part of this season we ticked along nicely.

“So, it’s a case of getting back to how we were performing then and getting back on track.”

Burnley sit in 15th place in the Premier League, ahead of the weekend games, three points ahead of 18th placed Aston Villa but only four points behind 10th placed Arsenal, in a congested lower half of the table.

Leicester arrive at Turf Moor having suffered a slight dip in form in recent weeks - the most recent a surprise 2-1 home defeat to Southampton - but Pope is only concentrating on Burnley.

“The big thing for us this weekend is starting the game well and getting the performance levels back,” he said. “I think they have dropped over the last couple of weeks, so we are looking for a big one and we know that if we do that, we’ll get the points we need.”