ASHLEY Barnes has urged his Clarets teammates to set their sights high this season after breaking new ground in the Premier League.

Barnes netted his first of the campaign on Saturday to help Burnley to a 2-0 win over Swansea City, a third successive top flight win for the first time in nearly 43 years.

The victory maintained the Clarets’ stranglehold on seventh place and they have lost just two of their opening 12 league fixtures.

Sean Dyche’s side have an eight-point cushion on the bottom half and Barnes believes Burnley can be involved in the fight for a top 10 finish this season.

“I don’t see why not. We have to strive for being the best we can,” the 28-year-old said.

“I think we have to set our sights high. It’s one game at a time from the gaffer and our main aim is to be better than last season.”

Burnley’s stunning start to the season has included some remarkable results on the road, emerging undefeated from trips to Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton and Southampton.

While Barnes is aware that a bad run may arrive he is delighted to see the Clarets build up a cushion on the top flight strugglers, Burnley are 13 points clear of the bottom three.

“It’s been amazing,” he said of the start to the campaign. “Last season we couldn’t win away from home and all the noise around that, but we cut that out and we just need to concentrate game by game and we’re flying at the minute.

“At some stage there is a chance we might have a bad patch but we need to be prepared for that and keep going as we do.

“We’ve built up a buffer for that. For seeing out games and to know when we need to press and when we don’t and the game management is coming along.”

Burnley are averaging just under two points a game so far, with 22 from 12 games, and Barnes added: “When you look at it like that it’s unheard of for a small club like us. We’re doing so well and we need to keep it going.”

The win over Swansea was also a third successive clean sheet for the Clarets and a sixth shutout in nine games.

Burnley may have played with much greater control this season and Barnes believes they have learnt from last season’s experiences.

“We’re growing as a squad, every time we stay up and every game we’re growing as individuals as well, we know how to see out games and the circumstances of a game and when it’s going a bit dead,” he said.

“It’s not always going to be the prettiest of games at times, but we’ve dug deep and we’ve got the three points.”