Clarets looking to close that two point gap

We are third in the table right now. Leicester, currently top, and QPR both have a two point lead over us. We then have a three point lead ourselves over the next three clubs who are Derby, Reading and Blackpool.

That's been difficult to believe over the last few days since the 0-0 home draw against Watford. The negativity has been astonishing at times, based on the fact that, after winning seven consecutive league games we have now failed to win any of the last five, drawing four and losing at Huddersfield.

Whether a win would take us back to the top today remains to be seen. Leicester travel to Brighton, a ground where we've been beaten this season, but QPR are at home to Blackburn and so it would take a result for or bottom half of the table neighbours for us to get above the London club.

Sam Vokes hopes to see Danny Ings back in the team

Our opponents are Barnsley so that will cause problems up and down the country with the sports media. When they sacked David Flitcroft last Saturday someone on the message board suggested the BBC then might headline with the notion that Burnley were looking for a new manager.

Manager Sean Dyche remains very positive. Having said that he always is and there was certainly no negativity from him when he spoke to shareholders at the meeting on Thursday. His only real concern was the reluctance of the home fans to show patience with young players, as clearly highlighted on Tuesday when Steven Hewitt came on.

This followed on from something similar when Cameron Howieson made his debut in April 2012, and Dyche posed the question as to whether the Turf Moor crowd were actually ready to accept young players, and all that brings, into the team.

Besides Hewitt, Howieson and young Northern Ireland right back Cameron Dummigan were on the bench on Tuesday. All three have been turning in some excellent performances in the behind closed doors games according to the manager and it was there for those in attendance to see when we beat Sunderland in the Under-21 Premier League Cup just over a week ago.

Whether Dyche will have to call on some of these players today remains to be seen. Michael Duff is definitely available again after sitting out the Watford game serving a one match suspension following his red card at Huddersfield.

The big question however is whether either or both of Dean Marney and Danny Ings will be fit. Suggestions on Thursday were that Ings was the closer of the two with Dyche confirming yesterday that he and his staff will have to make a judgement call regarding the pair.

Without Ings, it was Scott Arfield who was pushed up to try and support Sam Vokes, the Clarets Mad Player of the Month for each of the last three months, and Vokes admitted that on Tuesday: "We didn't have the cutting edge."

He spoke about playing with Scott Arfield and said: "It was a different way of playing. I think Scotty did well playing in that position. It's not natural to him but he's got great energy about him and can get up and down the pitch, and also support me so I think we've got a lot of depth in the squad to deal with it."

But of course would like to see Ings back this Saturday. "We've worked well together and it will be a good bonus to have him back at the weekend if he is fit but I'm not sure yet so we'll see what happens," he said.

"There's no easy game in this league. Barnsley went to Brighton the other night and beat them. It's a tough game and we've got to go out as we have been and prove that we deserve a win."

I'm sure that should Marney and Ings be fit then both will come straight back into the team. I also think there could be a recall for Michael Kightly after he started Tuesday's game on the bench.

Should we have everyone fit, and fingers are crossed that we will, then it could be back to the tried and trusted team of recent weeks.

We could line up: Tom Heaton, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Ben Mee, Scott Arfield, Dean Marney, David Jones, Michael Kightly, Danny Ings, Sam Vokes. Subs from: Alex Cisak, Cameron Dummigan, Kevin Long, Danny Lafferty, David Edgar, Brian Stock, Steven Hewitt, Cameron Howieson, Junior Stanislas, Keith Treacy, Ryan Noble.

Barnsley's 3-0 home defeat against Birmingham a week ago proved to be the final act for David Flitcroft after eleven months in charge. It meant they'd gone on a run of twelve league games with just one win, a 3-2 home success against Middlesbrough in mid-October.

The axe fell with the board asking former Claret Micky Mellon to take temporary charge and he duly, as so often happens on these occasions, led them to a big surprise win at Brighton. Under normal circumstances it would have been more than enough to see them climb from the bottom of the league but on the night the two teams above them, and within striking distance, also won and so they remain behind Sheffield Wednesday on goal difference and one point below Yeovil in that bottom three.

Mellon had been working as Flitcroft's assistant. He joined the club just after they'd sacked then manager Keith Hill to assist the new boss, this coming just after he himself had lost his job at Fleetwood after steering them into the Football League.

How long our former Centre of Excellence coach will remain in charge will probably be determined by his performance. He's nicked in front of Danny Wilson and is now favourite for the job. Hopefully we can dent his chances.

On Tuesday Mellon made four changes to the Barnsley team that had lost against Birmingham although one of those changes was forced on him with striker Marcus Pedersen ruled out with injury.

Also out were Jim O'Brien, Stephen Dawson and Jean Yves M'voto with Peter Ramage, Tomasz Cywka, Jacob Mellis and Kelvin Etuhu coming in.

Pedersen is fit again for today's game as is Chris O'Grady who has missed their last three games. Both will be in the squad today but Mellon could start with the same eleven who served him well at the Amex on Tuesday night.

If so there team will be: Jack Butland, Scott Wiseman, Tom Kennedy, Martin Cranie, Peter Ramage, David Perkins, Tomasz Cywka, Jacob Mellis, Paddy McCourt, Kelvin Etuhu, Marcus Tudgay. Subs from: Chris Dibble, Bobby Hassell, Jim O'Brien,  Jean Yves M'voto, David Fox, Stephen Dawson, Jason Scotland, Marcus Pedersen, Chris O'Grady.

Last Time They Were Here

Last season's home 1-1 draw against Barnsley was one of that quartet of home midweek games in a 20 day period which saw us draw two and lost two with only one goal scored.

It was the third of them; it came after the 0-0 draw against Middlesbrough and the 1-0 defeat to Huddersfield and on both occasions I'd suggested it would have all been a different story had we been able to get an early goal.

Charlie Austin scored an early goal

Against Barnsley we did just that, for what good it did us although we got precious little support on the night from the appalling Carl Boyeson who was attempting to referee the game.

We were clearly missing the injured Dean Marney at the time and again he was ruled out of this game, but the game provided Alex Kačaniklić with a home debut.

It was the loan man from Fulham who started the move that gave us the lead in just the ninth minute. It was hardly a classic but Kačaniklić linked well with Danny Lafferty down the left and the full back got in the perfect cross for Charlie Austin.

It mattered not that Austin could only get his knee onto the ball because it then deflected off a Barnsley defender and into the net.

The rest of the first half was a scrappy affair with neither side threatening to any extent and by half time the quality of football from the Clarets had descended into the sort of stuff we'd seen in the previous two home games.

We deteriorated in the second half but Boyeson stepped in with two appalling decisions to help the away side. Former Claret Stephen Foster had already been carded in the first half and when he pulled Martin Paterson back he knew what was coming.

Incredibly Boyeson did nothing and repeated that when Sam Vokes, on as a substitute, played a delightful ball to send Austin clear in the box. Down he went, Boyeson was nowhere to be seen and Barnsley had got away with it.

To be fair we offered jus about nothing else during the half but another goal would have definitely wrapped things up. But worse was to come, just six minutes from the end, when Tomasz Cywka was allowed to turn on the edge of the box before hitting home.

It was another poor home performance and this after that much needed early goal.

The teams were;

Burnley: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, Kevin Long, Jason Shackell, Danny Lafferty, Junior Stanislas (Danny Ings 53), David Edgar (Chris McCann 53), Marvin Bartley, Alex Kačaniklić, Martin Paterson (Sam Vokes 66), Charlie Austin. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, Joseph Mills, Brian Stock, Keith Treacy.

Barnsley: Luke Steele, Scott Wiseman, Stephen Foster, Martin Cranie, Tom Kennedy, Jacob Mellis, David Perkins, Kelvin Etuhu (Jim O'Brien 78), Chris O'Grady, Marlon Harewood (Tomasz Cywka 45), Chris Dagnall (Jason Scotland 55). Subs not used: Lukas Lidakevicius, Bobby Hassell, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Rory Delap.

Previous Games against Barnsley

Click HERE to see all previous results against Barnsley