Burnley manager Sean Dyche has urged his players to ignore the negativity surrounding their participation in the Europa League this season.
Europe's secondary competition is often seen as a distraction from the main duty of the Premier League, with Burnley's match against Fulham this afternoon their eighth outing already this season.
A 4-2 defeat at Craven Cottage - following on from a 3-1 loss at the hands of Olympiacos in Athens on Thursday night - has left Burnley in the relegation zone with only one point from their three Premier League games, but Dyche has challenged his side to prove that they are capable of succeeding on both fronts.
"We need to see beyond the constant noise of the Europa League, and too many games and all that sort of stuff. The players get a barrage of different stories and mostly, I think it is fair to say, those have been negative about the Europa League and how many games we are playing," he told reporters.
"But it's the reality, that's the challenge - can we keep going in two competitions? We are stretched at the moment, as everyone knows. These are the complications of life at Burnley sometimes. We are skinny on numbers at the minute to take on the two competitions.
"But that's the reality, no excuses. Those are just the facts. The best side won and the best player on the pitch was the centre-forward, Mitrovic. He did everything that a good centre-forward should do."
Burnley are taking part in their first European campaign since 1966-67.
Barney Corkhill
