Thursday 19 February 2015 17:23, UK
Burnley boss Sean Dyche says Danny Ings remains focused on helping the club retain their Premier League status despite continued speculation over his future.
The 22-year-old striker reportedly held talks with Real Sociedad boss David Moyes in Spain last weekend as the race for his signature hots up.
Ings is out of contract in the summer and has also been linked with a number of Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Manchester United, while an England call-up has been mooted.
Dyche weighed into the debate on Sunday by claiming Ings should stay in the Premier League and, although a new contract is on the table at Turf Moor, the Clarets boss appears resigned to losing his prized asset.
But he expects Ings to continue the fine form he has shown up until now, with his ninth goal of the season in last week's 3-1 loss to Manchester United making him Burnley's record Premier League goalscorer.
"I've got no reason to doubt his thoughts about Burnley Football Club and what we're doing," Dyche said.
"You can tell that by his performances. He's been terrific all week in training so he certainly looks ready to play.
"He's known me a while so he knows he can trust me, and I think he trusts the people here. We're always very honest and open and I think he understands that."
He's been terrific all week in training so he certainly looks ready to play.
Ings' goal was the highlight of a performance at Old Trafford that earned Burnley plenty of praise but no points.
It is becoming a slightly worrying trend for Dyche's side, who have picked up only one point from their last four Premier League games despite leading 2-0 on two occasions.
Results last week saw them slip back into the bottom three, a point from safety, but Dyche expects the rewards to come.
"Over a season you think that (playing well) pays you back," Dyche added. "There's no guarantee that it does. But if that's a feature in your performances on a weekly basis, people are improving, then you want that to bring points your way.
"There's still a frustration with certain key moments in games and things that have happened where we know we could do better, and there's other games where we've done very well and still not got the result.
"I thought we were excellent at Man United last week, didn't get the win, so we know that needs to change of course. We're scoring more freely but we've got to make sure we find that balance."
