MICHAEL Keane and Ben Mee are two of only six outfield players to remain ever present for their club in the Premier League this season.

The Burnley centre backs have played every minute of the Clarets' 29 Premier League games next to each other at the heart of Sean Dyche's defence.

Only West Brom's Gareth McAuley, Bournemouth's Steve Cook, César Azpilicueta at Chelsea and Middlesbrough's Ben Gibson have also played every minute of their clubs Premier League campaign so far as outfield players.

The continuity of Keane and Mee at the back might be bad news for James Tarkowski, who continues to wait patiently for his chance with Burnley, but Dyche believes the reduced number of games in the Premier League has helped his key defenders remain in the side to form a settled defence.

Last season Burnley played eight more league games than they will this term and no outfield player went through the Clarets' Championship-winning campaign last year as an ever present.

"There’s a lot made of the amount of games," Dyche said of the Premier League. "But you come out of the Championship into the Premier League and there are a lot fewer games. Not for the Champions League clubs, of course, we understand that.

"I think we’ve adapted to that well, that kind of focused period, where you have lots of games in the Championship, well it’s kind of different in the Premier League.

"It might be week after week, so the week builds up differently. I think we’ve done well with that, overall. Any injuries we’ve had, mainly, have been in games and not in training, so we’ve been pleased with that."