​​With the Premier League slowly winding to a close and the final international break of the season thankfully put behind us, Burnley are in much better shape than they were two years ago.

Sean Dyche's side have all but secured Premier League football for next season, with two wins from the last nine games likely to be enough, barring a remarkable turnaround from one of the bottom three sides.

Two years ago

Cast your mind back to the 2014/15 season in which Burnley had eight games to go. Stuck in the relegation zone, the Clarets were only a point adrift of Sunderland but couldn't rack up enough points to pull off the great escape.

Reflecting on the past, Sean Dyche believes that the heartbreaking experience of the 2014/15 campaign has helped his side progress this season.

​"There's more experience, for individuals, the team and myself," ​he said.

"There's an openness to the challenge, we know it's the Premier League and it's a tough division. There's a nice balance to the thrill of being in the Premier League but the adjustment and the calmness to know you have to deliver week-in, week-out."

​The 45-year-old went on to say,"There's the clarity of nothing is a given, we have to continue to earn the right to be in the Premier League on an ongoing basis, that was the challenge at the beginning of the season." ​

"We're in good shape, we have to keep working hard to the end of the season," Dyche continued.

Greater experience key for Burnley

Experience has been at the heart of Burnley's successful campaign, with Steven Defour, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Jeff Hendrick and Andre Gray the only players who hadn't previously featured in the Premier League.

However, of the aformentioned list, all the player except Gray had a wealth of international experience to their name and thus were hardly rookies heading into the deep end.

​​Dyche said, "There's a deeper squad as well, in the sense of experience and quality and a different feel to the squad that there was two years ago."

​"Some of the players have matured from that squad two years ago and some we have brought in. There's a different connection within the squad and a slightly stronger connection, not just as teammates but with knowledge and experience," ​concluded the Burnley boss.