Burnley boss Sean Dyche has revealed a frank exchange of views helped inspire the impressive victory over West Ham which could signal a turning point in their season.
The Clarets belied their struggles in the Premier League this season with a resolute display in a 2-0 win on Sunday, giving them some momentum to take into Wednesday's match away to Huddersfield.
Only a few months after qualifying for Europe, Dyche's men remain in a fight against the drop – a picture he made clear to them in a meeting last week at the half-way point of the season.
"At the half-way stage of a season you reflect and make sense of it," he said. "We had a meeting the other day, and just said, 'Right, here we are, this is the reality'.
"We're not renowned for doing BS, we make sure the players know in real terms the challenge that's in front of us, and then how can we affect that challenge?
"We shared a few views on it, picked a team, and then then showed they were willing to take the challenge on, because that was a performance full of endeavour, fight and quality, that underbelly of a real team that can be effective."
Burnley looked back to the side that finished seventh last season as they attacked with purpose while defending strongly.
It has been too rare a sight in matches this season, but Dyche was not surprised.
"They've been showing it in training, to be fair, lots of work doing in training, lots of tactical understanding, them bringing their part to play," he said.
"But I spoke before the game about the trust, the trust in yourself to know, because they do know how to deliver a performance.
"Remind them of the simplicity of it, and allow them to go out and play."
Dyche has said a number of factors played into Burnley's poor first-half of the season, more than simply the disruption caused by their brief, ill-fated foray into the Europa League, even if that clearly took its toll early on.
And given the problem was not simple, nor has been finding a solution.
"When you see a team that can perform and it doesn't, it's confusing," Dyche said.
"People know we generally keep things really tight, we keep performances tight, we keep games tight, and we very rarely are out of a game.
"We've been out of too many this season, too early."
Dyche is hopeful Robbie Brady could be fit for Wednesday's game following a hip injury, though it will come too soon for Steven Defour and Stephen Ward.
"Robbie's got a chance, Steven I don't think will," Dyche said. "Wardy is getting closer, but needs match time.
"Steven's not really serious, it's just making sure, to make sure he comes back.
"Robbie's has just been a knock, a very slight tear in his hip abductor, it just needing settling down, but he's been back on the grass training and he's clear at the moment, so he's got a chance of coming back into the thinking."
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