JACK Cork admits the exertions of the wins of Leicester and Manchester United played a part in Burnley’s FA Cup exit against Norwich.

The Clarets had been looking to build on two huge Premier League victories earlier in the week but saw the Canaries win 2-1 at Turf Moor to seal their place in round five.

While the midfielder insisted there was no issue with the mentality from Sean Dyche’s side heading into the game, the 30-year-old conceded that it had come at the end of a demanding six days.

“There was no comedown,” Cork said. “They were tremendous results for the football club and it’s just unfortunate, one of those things.

“No-one’s disheartened. We had a good go and everyone worked as hard as they could, they week took it out of us a little bit and that showed.

“We had a couple of chances and it could have gone either way and it’s a little bit disappointing.

“There’s nothing bad to take from it we just move onto the next one.”

Like his manager also did post-match, Cork conceded that the bigger picture was that a nice as a run to the latter stages of the FA Cup would have been, ensuring top flight survival come May is the top priority for all involved with the Clarets.

Attentions are already turning to Arsenal’s visit to East Lancashire on Sunday, February 2.

“We’d had a good run and it would have been nice to get a good cup run now we’re on the 30-point mark,” Cork said.

“It would have been nice to keep going but the cup’s not the main goal for us, it’s trying to stay in the league.

“We’ll have a good week now ahead of Arsenal. To take our full attention into that is a bonus.”

Cork concedes that even if the Clarets had managed to progress, the FA Cup has an increasing attraction for some of the Premier League’s big hitters given Liverpool’s seemingly routine march to the tile this season.

“It will be interesting to see who they draw next and where we could have gone,” said Cork.  

“We might rue our chances of missing out on a little run but it is what it is.

“The cups are just as hard, the big teams want to win them more than ever. Liverpool have almost got the league now so there will be a lot of attention on the FA Cup from teams like Manchester City and Chelsea and Arsenal to try and get some silverware.”