TALK about bad timing. I couldn’t believe it when I saw Sam Vokes getting treatment so early in the game on Saturday.

His terrible, season-ending injury has left us down to the bare bones for two big away games at Watford and Barnsley.

But it is up to the fit and available lads to pull together and make sure the Clarets achieve their promotion goal.

Hopefully in the next week or two we will be able to welcome back both Kieran Trippier and Danny Ings from injury, and that will be a massive boost to the squad at a time when we can no longer supplement it with signings after the loan window closed last week.

Dean Marney will be back for the midweek trip to Oakwell after suspension, and it would be an ideal time to break our hoodoo.

We hardly ever win there, it’s our bogey ground.

But the main thing is being able to get something from the next two games and try to maintain as big a cushion in second place as possible.

It’s going to be a tough one as Sean Dyche goes back to his old club, Watford, tomorrow.

Results have improved since their change of manager, and they have been particularly strong at home of late.

We will have to make do and mend with key players missing, but Dyche will have them all well drilled and aware of their jobs if it means one or two playing out of their usual position.

His mantra of ‘one game at time’ is all the more meaningful now.

In the circumstances we can’t look too far ahead.

While mathematics are in our favour we cannot take a still healthy position for granted and rely on that to get us up.

We have to keep working hard and getting results.

There is perhaps a bit more awareness of what other teams are doing too.

Our old manager Eddie Howe could do us a favour with Bournemouth at home to QPR tomorrow.

But we have to look after ourselves too and stay in control of our own destiny, so that when Sam does return, it will be as a Premier League footballer.