SAM Vokes hopes that Burnley's Chelsea controversy will not lead to them getting the rough end of the stick from referees - after the striker was denied a penalty in Saturday's 1-0 home loss to Swansea City.

Burnley found themselves in the middle of a national furore after their 1-1 draw at Chelsea last week, with Ashley Barnes receiving heavy criticism from Jose Mourinho for his role in Nemanja Matic's red card and many pundits also insisting that two penalties should have been given against Sean Dyche's men.

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The Clarets were denied two penalties themselves against Swansea and Dyche became increasingly exasperated with referee Jon Moss on the touchline as a number of decisions went against Barnes.

The ball struck Federico Fernandez's arm in the box early in the second half on Saturday and substitute Vokes was then wrestled by Neil Taylor for another penalty appeal, but the striker hopes that the debate over the Chelsea game is not having an impact on officials.

“You’d like not to think so, you'd like to think those things don’t go against you, but you never know at this level," he said.

"There’s a lot of stuff made out in the media and Barnesy has been in the papers all week, but it's one of those things really. We have just got to concentrate on our performances.

"Their player tried to take me waist high but it was one of those things. If the ref gives it it’s a penalty, but he didn’t and it’s not my kind of game to dive around.

"There were a few decisions. We thought the handball incident in the box early in the second half was a strong appeal but at the end of the day the decisions weren’t given, and I don’t think we can rely on that.”

The home loss to Swansea left the Clarets in the relegation zone and was a damaging result in the middle of a run of fixtures against the Premier League's big boys.

Vokes admits that the defeat has now left them needing to get a result from their next two games - away to Liverpool on Wednesday, then at home to Manchester City on March 14.

“I know you can look at them as bonus games but they’re games we need to pick up points from now because we dropped them on Saturday," he said.

"It was frustrating. We knew we had to pick up points but we haven’t, so now we go into a couple of tough games knowing we have to get something.

“We had a few chances and at the start of the second half we started the stronger.

"I think from their first passage of play they got a set piece and scored from it. That’s what this league can do to us. We know that and we’ve got to stop it.

“We know it’s a chance gone. The boys are gutted.

“We are going into a tough period now but we know we have to go to these places and pick up points, which we have done all season.

"We have to go to Liverpool with confidence after the results we got at the likes of City and Chelsea.

“We have gone to the top two in the country and got results, so we are capable.”