Saturday 31 January 2015 19:59, UK
Burnley manager Sean Dyche insists Danny Ings is not leaving the club, despite taking him off after just an hour in their 2-0 defeat at Sunderland.
The 22-year-old has been the subject of transfer speculation this month as he enters the final six months of his contract at Turf Moor.
He appeared to be frustrated with the decision to take him off against Sunderland and Dyche revealed afterwards that the transfer talk has affected Burnley's top scorer.
"There has been a lot going on over the last 24 hours for a young player and he looked a little bit lacking in energy today," he told Sky Sports. “It’s very difficult, he is a young man doing fantastically well in the Premier League and he knows he is staying, that’s a given.
“The club have been steadfast in their opinion, from the chairman to the chief executive and myself and the player most importantly. He has said all along he will be part of Burnley this season and we look forward to that.
“He has had a lot on his plate so we look forward to him getting settled down next week, training again, getting sharp and he will be ready to go.”
First-half goals from Connor Wickham and Jermain Defoe condemned Burnley to defeat at the Stadium of Light and left them firmly in the Premier League relegation battle.
“It’s a work in progress for us,” admitted Dyche. “When you are new to the division the players are learning and adapting as a group. We have got it right a lot, other times we haven’t.
“The key thing at this level is giving away chances, we created more chances (than Sunderland) but we gave them two. We learn from that and move forward.
“We are not lacking belief or energy, the organisation is good. We still need to remind ourselves of the desire to improve our quality in the top third. We know there are things we can improve and the players know that. If we are 1% below our high level then you get hurt at this level and that’s what happened today.”
