The fans know they have to row with us

“We’ve got credit for winning five games in a row, then going ten games without defeat so, by the same token, we have to accept the criticism when things don’t turn out as we would like. I said if we kept a clean sheet here at Burnley then we’d win the game and, strange as it sounds, it is simply a case of four individual errors that have prevented us from doing that today.

“I really hope this game is a one off for defensive errors, one we can put behind us and not ever see repeated. But we had the momentum after the break and, I felt, for the early part of the first half as well. Marlon scored with a great striker and at that stage it was no more than we deserved. We had all the pressure, you could see Burnley struggling to cope with us then two mistakes from us means the game is dead and buried.”

It was a good day for Burnley boss Steve Cotterill who saw his side respond in just the right way following the defeat at Bramall Lane last week. “I thought the lads thoroughly deserved their win today,” he said after the game. “It was pleasing on the back of last week, because we felt we needed to put in a performance and we felt that performance would get us a result.

“We also felt that we needed to put something right because down at Watford when we were beaten 3-1 we felt that from 2-1 we should have gone on and won the game.

“We’re four points off third place now and we are delighted with that and we’ve now got a big home game to look forward to on Boxing Day. I’m pleased for the lads, they are going out tonight for their Christmas do and that will certainly make it a decent night for them.”

Steve spoke about the effect Gifton Noel-Williams had on the game after coming on as a second half substitute with the game at 2-1. “If we had tried to suffer it and not made any changes, they may just have got back into it and the key to winning the game was Gifton,” he said.

“He was magnificent and for the time he was on the field, I thought he was the man of the match. I don’t think he did a thing wrong and for those who put marks in papers, I thought he was a ten.

“His link play was fantastic and he was excellent when he came on. He’s been like that for a month now in training and I’ve just said to the boys that there’s a lesson to be learned there when you are not in the team.”

He had a word for the supporters again, and said, “The fans know they have to row with us really and it they get everything from the boys that they get, it is easier for them to jump on with us. They are very passionate and I thought our players were too today and that is a decent marriage for success.”

And Steve ended with a word about Wayne Thomas who made a surprise return via the bench. “We’re delighted with that, but we didn’t want to give him too long because we don’t know how long he’s got in him at the moment. But he came on and got in an important header at the back and played a good ball down the line that we retained. That was all in seven minutes which was excellent for him.”