SEAN Dyche has hailed Ashley Barnes’ impact off the substitutes bench after he was introduced ahead of Andre Gray for the second game in a row at West Brom.

Barnes made an immediate impact when he came on against Crystal Palace at Turf Moor, scoring a dramatic injury-time winner, while on Monday he was introduced at half-time with Burnley 3-0 down against the Baggies.

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But the 26-year-old did manage to liven his side up in the second period and last season’s top scorer Gray had to wait until the final 20 minutes for his introduction at The Hawthorns.

Dyche admitted he could have made a host of changes after a calamitous first-half in the Midlands, but he was pleased with the impact Barnes made in a lost cause.

“I thought Barnesy did well, he was a shining light when he came on, and he did well in the last game when he came on, but it was just trying to change the feel of it,” said the Clarets chief.

“I could have changed lots of different situations, but you’ve only got three and it’s a risk if you make them all at once.

“The game was gone at half-time, simple as that, second half we needed to get more looking like us, and we slightly did without being great, but we at least made a game of it, whereas first half we didn’t.”

Burnley and Dyche will be looking to put Monday’s nightmare behind them on Saturday when Manchester City and Pep Guardiola visit Turf Moor.

The Clarets have relied on their home record so far this term, taking 13 of their 14 points in front of their own fans, but they will have their work cut against City.

And Dyche believes it will present an entirely different test once again.

The pressure will be off against Guardiola’s side after Burnley’s bright start to the season had people believing they could have troubled West Brom.

The Clarets boss added: “The City game is a different one, people may have thought (the West Brom game) is an interesting one, they might nick something there on a good run of form, we didn’t, whereas Man City, no one puts us anywhere near a chance of beating them.

“Those games are completely different. Not from our point of view, we play to win, but I don’t think people will be measuring us from that one.

“(Against West Brom), people will have thought, they’ve done well. When they play teams like this, not the top end, not super powers, and we were looking at that, but we didn’t perform, and you can’t perform like that against anyone at this level.

“Generally our performances have been better than that, and they will have to be.”

  • Burnley’s Premier League Cup away to Sunderland has been moved back to Sunday, December 18 (1pm kick-off).

Michael Jolley’s Under-23 side will face Sunderland at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare ground. The tie has been put back due to Sunderland’s commitments in the Checkatrade Trophy.