SEAN Dyche said Burnley were ‘out of the game before they were in it’ after a 5-1 loss to Everton.

The Clarets were behind inside the opening two minutes, and the afternoon got even worse when the Toffees led 3-0 by the midway point of the first half through a contentious penalty.

Ben Gibson pulled a goal back in the 37th minute, in his first Premier League game for the Clarets since signing from Middlesbrough in the summer, after an injury plagued start to life at Turf Moor.

But after James Tarkowski cleared the bar from close range and missed the chance to make it 3-2 early in the second half, Everton went on to complete the rout.

“We didn’t deserve anything today,” said Dyche.

“You can’t start for 20 mins like we did.

“Credit to Everton, they started well with an energy and a purpose, but you can’t give goals away.

“It was a poor first goal, a sloppy free kick for the second and for the penalty Ben is only jumping, their lad hits him as he does.

“I’m not saying it would have been massively different, but if it’s two and you nick one it’s a different feel.

“The lads responded at 3-0 and nicked one and I told them the next one (goal) was massive.

“We had a golden chance and if Tarky puts them under pressure, maybe they are nervous but then our best chance had gone.”

Dyche added: “It’s not just about scorelines it’s about performances as well. Today you can’t judge because you’re out of the game before you’re in it.”

Burnley, who remain in the bottom three, have the chance to make amends with the second of back-to-back home games to see out 2018.

The first half of the year was a remarkable one for the Clarets, as they secured a seventh place finish in the Premier League to bring European football back to Burnley for the first time in over half a century.

However this season - the second half of 2018 - has failed to live up to the expectations that were created by a successful last term.

But, ahead of Sunday’s visit of West Ham, Dyche said: “It’s not about befores, it’s about nows.

“The games coming up are massive for our season.

“It’s not about concerns, it’s about realities – we are where we are because we haven’t deserved any better. We haven’t kept the margins tight enough.

“Last season was a fantastic journey for everyone but I said this one was a restart situation, the only way you can make it different is spend £200million – that’s just a fact of the challenge.”