Sean Dyche Says Burnley Are 'Still a Work in Progress' After Losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace

Burnley manager Sean Dyche has admitted he is confused by his side's 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday, claiming Burnley are still a work in progress.

Burnley dominated large parts of the first half, but found themselves trailing to a Phil Bardsley own goal. Michy Batshuayi doubled Palace's lead shortly after the break, before Wilfried Zaha's strike ensured Burnley were out of the game, despite a late consolation goal from Ashley Barnes.

When asked for his feelings on the game by Sky Sports, Dyche said: "A bit of a confusing one today. We've dominated a lot of the first half, we created chances, we had big moments, but we weren't clinical enough overall. We had some good positions in the first half where we didn't find that last pass or that last bit of quality.

"They scored ever so early in the second half, and then it's tough from there on in, we get done with a really soft third, and then there's trouble. I admire my lads' spirit, because we kept knocking on the door. 

"A lot of it is down to the players, once you get into that final third. We can all do a drill, but those moments are important. We found moments, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to be too critical because we found moments.

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"It's kind of confusing when you look at the stats. It was quite a reasonable performance stats-wise, but as we know, stats don't win games.

"We've never spoken any more than the next game. We know these games are important, we know the mindset. 

"At the end of the day, I think most people would be confused with, not just us, Palace are a good side but in the last couple of seasons, they seem to be hanging around down there [at the bottom of the league table], and most people are scratching their head asking 'why?'.

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"I continually think we're a work in progress. We've done a lot of work in this run. Eight unbeaten, we've had a couple of tough results to take, but we've had tough results before this season and we've responded. That's the most important thing."

The result sees Burnley drop to 16th in the Premier League table, just five points clear of the relegation zone. They must now turn their attention to Liverpool, who will welcome the Clarets to Anfield on Sunday.