Daily Mail

BRING ON THE BIG BOYS, SAYS DYCHE

- DANIEL MATTHEWS at the Amex Stadium

THE Premier League table never lies. For sixth-placed Burnley, a draw at Brighton on Saturday ensured a busy week brought seven more points and three more clean sheets. Their form this season suggests they are good enough to mix it with the big boys. Now they have the chance to prove it. Between now and New Year’s Day, Sean Dyche’s side face Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool. Not that there is trepidatio­n at Turf Moor. Rather, they are relishing another chance to test themselves against the best. ‘It’s always a measure of the realities of the Premier League when you play some of those teams,’ Dyche said. ‘But I’m open-minded about what our players can do and I think they are as well.’ However, a lot can change in two-and-a-half weeks. Just ask Brighton. Heading into their own clash with Liverpool on December 2, Chris Hughton’s side sat 10th. Four games and three losses later, they are only three points above the relegation zone — not helped by Glenn Murray putting his first-half penalty over the bar. Burnley midfielder Jack Cork knows that if Brighton can take heart from his side’s rise, so too must the Clarets heed the warnings of how quickly fortunes can change. But whatever happens over the next few weeks, Burnley won’t lack incentive. ‘A lot of pundits at the start of the season said us, Huddersfie­ld and Brighton in the bottom three next May. We all saw that, we remember it,’ Cork said. ‘It is extra motivation... you have it in your mind to prove people wrong.’

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