BURNLEY need to be more clinical in front of goal if they are to secure enough wins to survive in the Premier League, according to Michael Duff.

The 37-year-old was left ruing missed chances along with the rest of his team-mates in the 2-0 defeat at Southampton on Saturday.

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And he knows that is an area the Clarets need to work on with eight games of the Premier League season left in which to ensure they return to top flight action come August.

Burnley more than matched Ronald Koeman’s Saints in the first half, but Sam Vokes, twice, and Danny Ings were both denied by Kelvin Davis, who had come on as an early substitute for the injured Fraser Forster, although Duff admitted they were ‘gilt-edged’ chances.

“That's what we've learned about the league, you need to be clinical,” said the veteran centre back, who is celebrating 11 years of service at Turf Moor with a testimonial in the summer.

“You can't have six, seven, eight, nine chances to score, because teams don't give those up, so when they do give chances up, you need to take them.

“That's the most disappointing thing, we didn't get battered and had opportunities to win the game.”

Burnley have now scored just once in their last four games and three in their last six, having previously scored in nine of their last ten.

Danny Ings, Sam Vokes and Ashley Barnes have also failed to score in the Clarets’ last five games.

But Duff felt Burnley were hard done by in defeat, with both Southampton goals having an element of fortune about them, while George Boyd was also denied a penalty after being caught by Jose Fonte.

“I've not seen the penalty back, but I've been told it was, and we created a lot of chances,” he said.

“Goals change games, and if you break it down clinically, the two goals they've scored came from two ricochets.

“The first has gone through five bodies and dropped to the lad, and the second cannoned off Shackell, which is an occupational hazard when you're stood in the middle of the goal and balls keep flying across.

“Every now and again one is going to fly in your own net.

“So it's just unfortunate, but if you take the goals out of it and break down the chances, we had as many, if not more, especially first half.”

Thirty-eight-year-old Davis was the hero of the hour for the Saints, although Duff admitted that the Clarets were disappointed they didn’t take him out of the equation with their wayward finishing costing them the chance of any points n.

“They lose an England goalkeeper and bring someone on who's even older than me, and he made some good saves, but I think the lads are disappointed they gave him the opportunity to make saves, because they were clear-cut, gilt-edged chances and unfortunately we didn't take them,” he said.