SEAN Dyche insists his Clarets side has got on the ‘right side’ of the fine margins that make all the difference in the Premier League this season.

Burnley are eight points above the safety line with six games remaining and are casting their glance upwards as they line up a top 10 finish in the top flight.

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It’s a state of affairs that has proved many pundits wrong, with the Turf Moor men predicted to drop straight back down following last season’s Championship title success.

And while Dyche admits the experience of two season ago – when his promoted team made a sluggish start before picking up form, but ultimately leaving it too late – has been useful, he claims it’s his players’ understanding of the small details that has proved vital so far.

He said: “I don’t think it’s just that (the experience of two seasons ago). It has helped and we have tried to recruit well.

“There is the understanding of what is required at this level. There is a growth in the players both mentally and physically.

“But it is so hard to measure because there is so much detail in every game.

“There really are tiny margins between succeeding and falling short. Those margins seem to be smaller in the Premier League – here the margins become more important and even tighter.

“We have worked really hard to get on the right side of those margins.”

Dyche, of course, won’t say his side is safe until it’s mathematically certain.

But when asked if he would consider top flight survival a bigger achievement than winning promotion out of the notoriously brutal Championship, he did allow himself to ruminate on the prospect.

“They are both satisfying in different ways,” he said.

“The Championship is fraught with trouble. To keep that consistency enough to get yourself out of it is hard, both physically and mentally. It is hard to focus every week.

“The Premier League is more difficult because of the quality of the opposition. There are longer periods between games, but you need more detail in your planning.

“Teams have a lot more flexibility because of the depths of their squads.

“It’s that judgement call you have to make, sticking to what you believe in and just flexing it to what you think can be effective at this higher level.

“That is exactly what we have done this season; we have not gone too far away from the way we did play.

“We have tried to stick to what we think is a good game plan for us and just changed it a bit when we’ve needed to, and brought players in and out when we’ve had to.

“So far we have not gone miles away from the way we have been playing. So far it has been productive for us because no-one fancied us back in the summer.”

Dyche added: “Winning promotion the second time straight after relegation, that really felt a big achievement.

“Working with the same group of players, more or less, and getting points on the board like we have – let’s see where that takes us.

“I will leave that judgement until the end of the season.”