We think Clarets are soft touch raps Roy

You have to be hoping that you are improving all the time, apace with all the other teams.

“The standard gets higher and outside that exceptional group of top clubs it is very hard to see who is going to finish where.”

Dyche agrees Palace’s struggles indicate how tough the league is.

Burnley’s home defeat by Newcastle on Monday made it six without a win, while Palace have drawn two and lost six since beating West Brom in the Carabao Cup.

Dyche said: “I have maximum respect for Roy and Ray Lewington his assistant. I played under Ray and think so much of him and Roy I’ve come to know over the years. They know what they’re doing.

“They have a team with some talent, they have a team that can win games and yet that’s the measure of the Premier League and how tough it is. Palace haven’t found that win, we haven’t found that win.

“I have the experience of these type of runs and the one thing I know is that good work on the training pitch and good belief systems will

KEEPING THE FAITH: Sean Dyche enhance your chances of winning. So that’s what we look to do and I’m sure Roy and Ray will do the same.” Burnley looked to have got themselves back on track after a sticky start with back-toback wins over Bournemouth and Cardiff but have lost four of their last five. Yet Dyche remains optimistic about how his side are developing, adding: “The key for me is to get back to a performance level that can win games.

“I think we’ve had a spell when some of our performances weren’t good enough but we’re coming out of that.

“It’d be nice to have a bit of the rub of the green because, for all of your planning, a deflected goal goes in and that’s a tough one to take.”