Steven Defour surprised that Burnley were favourites for relegation
Monday 21 November 2016 07:41, UK
Steven Defour admits he was a “little bit surprised” Burnley were labelled as favourites for the drop after an impressive start to the season.
The Clarets sit ninth in the Premier League ahead of their trip to West Brom, live on Monday Night Football, with the 28-year-old playing a key role in that fine start to the campaign after turning down a more lucrative offer from the United Arab Emirates to move to Turf Moor in the summer.
That move was the realisation of an ambition he had harboured since the days he had been courted by Manchester United but, while that move never materialised, Defour believes his Premier League career can develop under Sean Dyche, despite some tipping Burnley for relegation.
"When I was not yet at the club I got some information that we were favourites to go down, but then when I saw the way we were performing I was a little bit surprised about that," Defour said.
"I thought we were going to have some difficulties because we were going to be fighting to stay up, but we are handling it very well and we have a real quality about us."
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Burnley's last-gasp win over Crystal Palace two weeks ago saw them climb into the top half of the table before the international break and they have a chance to build on their recent success in their Monday night trip to West Brom.
Despite a succession of solid performances against the bigger teams - their solitary point in their travels so far remains their backs-to-the-wall display at Old Trafford last month - Defour believes the trip to the Hawthorns is in many ways more vital.
He said: "We're in a good position taking some important points from the big teams and that gives the team a lot of confidence.
"It's maybe even more important to win against these teams [like West Brom] because they are direct opponents to stay in the league. But I think we have gained the experience in order to play in these kinds of games."
The start of Defour's Premier League career has been blighted by an intermittent hamstring strain and he admitted he took some time to get used to its physicality after spending the previous two years in the Belgian top-flight.
There were signs in his influential performance against Palace that he is beginning to adapt to the pace and he hailed the approach of Dyche as crucial to the success of both himself and his team-mates so far this season.
"In the first game we didn't get a lot of the ball and I wasn't used to it - I ran around and I worked really hard and really had to adapt to that kind of play," he said.
"I think now I'm getting stronger and stronger every time when I almost get the 90 minutes. The manager is always asking how I feel and I think they can see it on the pitch when I start to get tired.
"[Dyche] has been quite a big influence because he's the one who convinced me to come here and he is having a big influence on how the team is playing and performing.
"For us it's quite simple - nobody expects anything from us so let's give it a go and we'll see. I think the team believes we can stay up, so what other people think outside the club, we don't really care."
