HANDBAGS, manbags and bumbags was how Sean Dyche described the end to the Clarets fantastic 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Monday.

And according to one ‘journalist’ that was him playing up to some ‘faded & jaded 1970s Les Dawson’ persona.

I’m not sure about you but I wouldn’t want to be the person to have to put that to Dyche!

Joking aside, there was a hell of a lot of mud flung in the direction of the Clarets after the 2-2 draw, much of it unwarranted but not unexpected.

There’s clearly something in the DNA of those involved with so-called big clubs – on and off the pitch – that leads them to believe they have a given right to just roll over the lesser teams in the division.

Burnley’s biggest crime it seems is that we didn’t lie down and allow them to win.

From a Claret perspective it was probably the best performance of the season for me.

Granted, we didn’t see much of the ball but we defended in a manner which was the norm last season; not allowing Chelsea any space in the final third to craft much in the way of chances.

I said earlier in the season that one of the reasons we were conceding so many goals is we were allowing the opposition to get into the box too often.

Joe Hart – remember him? – was conceding so many goals because he was facing a lot of shots from inside his area.

At Chelsea on Monday evening, we kept the likes of Eden Hazard at arms-length for most of the game and in positions where he couldn’t work his undoubted magic.

Against the club that was known for parking the bus under former boss Jose Mourinho, we did just that. And they didn’t like it!

Oh, this hasn’t been mentioned half as much but we also scored two fantastic first half goals.

First Jeff Hendrick opened the scoring with a most delicious volley from the edge of the area after a set-piece was only half cleared.

And then Ashley Barnes drew us back level after the hosts scored two in quick succession with a goal which may not have been as spectacular as Hendrick’s opener but was still a thing of beauty.

After that it was backs to the wall for 65 minutes but I’m not sure any of the Clarets at Stamford Bridge could care less.

After a topsy-turvy season, the real Burnley were back!