Self belief playing a crucial role - Ward

Defender Stephen Ward feels that the heightened self-belief within the Clarets camp has contributed to the club's change of fortunes on the road.
Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge is tackled by Burnley's Stephen Ward and James Tarkowski

Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport

The Premier League - Liverpool v Burnley - Saturday 16th September 2017 - Anfield - Liverpool

World Copyright © 2017 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comLiverpool's Daniel Sturridge is tackled by Burnley's Stephen Ward and James Tarkowski

Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport

The Premier League - Liverpool v Burnley - Saturday 16th September 2017 - Anfield - Liverpool

World Copyright © 2017 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge is tackled by Burnley's Stephen Ward and James Tarkowski Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport The Premier League - Liverpool v Burnley - Saturday 16th September 2017 - Anfield - Liverpool World Copyright © 2017 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

Sean Dyche’s side are already just two points away from matching their points tally from last season’s away fixtures having gone unbeaten at Stamford Bridge, Wembley and Anfield.

Confidence clearly stemmed from this term’s opener against champions Chelsea, a game that Burnley won 3-2, and the Republic of Ireland international believes the squad has continued to show no fear.

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“We always have belief in ourselves and the manager takes each game as it is,” said Ward, following the 1-1 draw against Liverpool. “Obviously he has a lot of respect for these teams but he tells it as it is.

“We know they’re good sides but he always believes in us and that’s a great thing. It shows out there on the pitch.

“You never know where you’re going to pick your points up from because it’s such a tough league but on paper not many people would have expected us to get anything.

“We feel that we’ve grown as a team and as a club coming to these places with the experience last year.

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“It’s a great start and it shows another step in our development to come here and get a point in the way we did.”

Despite the slight disruption in Burnley’s back line - with Michael Keane joining Everton in the summer - the 32-year-old former Wolves full back is adamant the the club’s defensive resilience remains as good as ever.

The Clarets, who now have the impressive James Tarkowski partnering Ben Mee at the back, have faced 86 shots in their last three Premier League outings but have conceded just twice.

“We’ve always been like that, worked up until the end,” Ward said. “Thankfully we’re getting our rewards for it this season.

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“That’s our mantra - the manager wants hard work and for us to do the basics right. That’s what we’ve tried to do and we’re building on that.

“When you start a new season you look at things that you can improve on and that was one of them, our away form.

“We’ve spoken about it, the mental side of it, approaching games in the same way that we do at home, and so far it’s been good. Long may that continue.

“It’s just about working hard on the training ground and the gaffer obviously sets us up with a game plan.

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“Sometimes we know that we’re not going to have as much possession as we would like or create too many chances to score so we have to be on our guard at the back.

“If the chances come along we’ve got to take them and thankfully we’ve done that this season so far.”