Sean Dyche wants same again from Burnley

Burnley boss Sean Dyche has told his players they must match their efforts against Liverpool in midweek when they face Brighton at Turf Moor on Saturday.

Burnley took the lead against Jurgen Klopp’s men before Liverpool fought back to win 3-1, with the Reds boss unhappy at the sliding tackles put in by the Clarets’ players.

Dyche, though, was delighted with the effort and intensity of his side, which was a marked difference to their display versus Crystal Palace last weekend.

But he has warned them it will count for nothing if they do not produce more of the same against the Seagulls.

He said: “We’ve set a few benchmarks this season and then dropped away from it too quickly.

“If that’s a benchmark then we’ve got to at least maintain that and then add to it with bits of quality, key moments, whether it’s blocks, defending properly, a detail in their box to score a goal.

“Statistically it is very difficult to beat the top six. Outside of that, we’ve seen that it can be topsy-turvy, teams going on good runs, not-so-good runs, it’s not just us.

“There have been several teams this season who have had tough runs and popped out of it. We have to put in performances like the other night.

“We’ve bounced out of these times before. If our crowd continue backing us like they did the other night, that’s another weapon. There’s a lot for us to build on against Brighton on Saturday.”

The Liverpool loss made it only two points taken from the last eight games for Burnley, who are above only Fulham in the table.

Brighton, by contrast, have won five of their last eight games to climb into the top half and are 12 points ahead of Burnley.

Dyche can see something of Burnley in Brighton as they bid to establish themselves in the Premier League and praised the job done by manager Chris Hughton.

He said: “I’ve always had a good relationship with Chris, very honest, straight guy, good at what he does without a doubt. I don’t think he searches for credit. I hope he knows he’s doing a good job.

“It’s certainly not an easy task playing against them. They’re always organised, happy to play long when they need to, happy to fight when they need to.

“Team-wise there are some similarities with us. They’ve got players who they’ve stood by and have improved, and I think Chris will really enjoy that.

“Some of the traits of the way they play as well and overall a good story, and Chris is a big part of that.”

Dyche showed his unhappiness with his team’s display against Palace by making five changes versus Liverpool, including giving starts to Ashley Westwood in midfield and Phil Bardsley at the back.

Dyche could give those players another chance on Saturday, saying: “I was really pleased with the performance level as a team but also the players coming in.

“That in-house demand is important because, if the players that come in play well, the players that go out have to make sure they’re ready and raring to go to get the shirts back.”

Midfielder Steven Defour is touch and go with the knee problem that forced him off against Palace.

It is the same knee that kept the Belgian out for more than six months but Dyche is hopeful the problem is not serious.

“At this stage we’ve just got to be sensible with him,” he said. “He’s old enough and wise enough to know his own body so we’re just really making sure.”