Burnley midfielder George Boyd says he has been encouraged by recent away performances, and believes the Clarets can end their away day woes at Watford on Saturday.
Boyd featured in a thrilling midweek win over reigning Premier League champions Leicester City, on a night where the signings of Robbie Brady and Ashley Westwood were also confirmed.
And now the 31-year-old winger is eyeing the opportunity of extending the feel-good factor at Turf Moor beyond the club’s trip to Vicarage Road.
Boyd insisted the Clarets ‘want to win away from home, and I think after the performances lately it will be a matter of time before we do that,’ a feeling enhanced by the wide man’s belief that ‘we have played three of the top teams in our last four and have been strong in every one.’
Burnley’s last away game hinged on a frenetic final few minutes, when Andre Gray’s late leveller from the spot was cancelled out by Alexis Sanchez’ penalty in the 97th minute.
'We feel we can beat anyone'
But Boyd vowed he and his teammates must recover from that late heartbreak, and acknowledged ‘if we can play at that level against Watford then we can definitely get something,' before adding the club are now ‘playing teams around us, which is a great opportunity to open the gap [between Burnley and the relegation zone] even more.’
While defeat in all bar one of Burnley’s away games could conceivably have led to mental fragility, Boyd believes he and his teammates are made from sterner stuff, and believes ‘the confidence we are playing with at the minute, we feel we can beat anyone – that’s shown in the way we’re playing.’
A former Hull City player, Boyd also offered a quick word on his former Tigers teammate Brady – ‘a fantastic player’ – and former Aston Villa midfielder Westwood, who ‘are two great players with Premier League experience,’ while being able ‘to bring that sort of quality in and be 10th in the table is brilliant for us.’