Victory is the only medicine - Brian Laws

First-half goals from Brian Easton, his first for the club since joining from Scottish side Hamilton in July last year, and Jay Rodriguez had put the Clarets in the ascendency against Leeds United, as they held a two-goal lead at half-time.

But the Clarets capitulated in the second half, as goals from Max Gradel, Luciano Becchio and Jonny Howson condemned Laws’ side to a second loss at Turf Moor this season.

Now, Laws has his sights on Cardiff City, where he hopes victory at Ninian Park will quash the ‘War of the Roses’ hangover.

“I’ll have to pick myself up, and we will do because you respond,” Laws said.

“Whenever you take a defeat you know you’ve got to pick yourself up and the players have to be picked up, but they’ve also got to be prepared and accept the disappointment as well, and it’s a long disappointment because our next game’s next week.

“So all week we’ll be very disappointed, until we get the result that will take it away. That’s the only medicine you can have.”

He added: “We’ve got to get our heads around it because there’s disappointment, there’s no question about it.

“You talk about contrasting halves. We were solid and in control and taking a two-goal lead into half-time and the one thing that you do say at half-time is make sure the next goal’s ours.

“It’s important, and with a game of this magnitude you know they’re going to have a go because they’ve got nothing else to lose being 2-0 down.”

Despite Simon Grayson’s side halving the deficit almost immediately after the interval, leading scorer Chris Iwelumo had a golden chance to double the Clarets advantage once again, but he guided his free header from Wade Elliott’s precise centre wide of the post.

And Laws knows moments like that in games of such magnitude can have a huge impact on the final outcome.

“The goal they got, the first one in particular, was going to be a turning point,” he said.

“We missed a golden opportunity with Chris Iwelumo, which could have made it 3-1 and we could have been looking at that win. But we’re going to have to trawl through the errors which we made in the second half and get it right.”

The Clarets’ goalscorers were the leading lights on a dismal afternoon at Turf Moor and, aside from the young duo, Laws is adamant that fringe players will be champing at the bit to join them in the starting XI for the crucial npower Championship fixture away at Cardiff City at the weekend.

Laws added: “I’m sure many of the players who weren’t playing today will be eagerly looking at that second half and saying ‘I might be able to do better than that’.

“Questions will be asked. They’ll be posing those thoughts to me I’m sure, and I’ll be looking at that for next week.

“Brian Easton’s had a good game and Jay’s had a great game, but unfortunately we’re only talking about negativity, and that happens when you lose a game.”