Joey Barton made a fairy-tale return to Turf Moor, as he scored the winning goal in a 1-0 win against Southampton on Saturday.
The match was forgettable, with few chances created by either side, but the Clarets' eighth home win of the season nudged them into the top half of the table.
With 26 points already collected, survival looks a virtual certainty with 17 games still to go. Barton will earn all the headlines and rightly so, as he proved he still has the class and ability to decide matches in the Premier League.
Positives
Burnley have now won six of their past seven Premier League games at home, and they are a match for anyone in the division at Turf Moor, with only Tottenham and league leaders Chelsea having earned more points in front of their own fans this season.
The re-signing of Barton adds strength in depth to midfield, and he made an immediate impact with his free kick goal, while Burnley were able to win, despite being without first-choice wide midfielders Scott Arfield and Johann Gudmundsson, who were both ruled out through injury.
Negatives
The game itself was far from a spectacle, and for most of the match defences were well on top, with strikers given few opportunities to shine. But this was a day of celebration for Clarets supporters, although a fantastic late double-save from captain Tom Heaton was required to preserve a third clean sheet in four matches in all competitions. The only tiny negative for Burnley is that winnable home games look to be thin on the ground for a couple of months after the upcoming visit of Leicester.
Manager rating out of 10
7 -- Sean Dyche stuck with his preferred 4-4-2 and surprisingly asked Steven Defour to fill in on the left in the absence of Arfield and Gudmundsson, with the Belgian doing a reasonable job, despite being out of position. Having a game-changer on the bench made a huge difference and Barton was given just long enough to have a decisive impact on the match, while the setup of the team was typically solid defensively. Dyche continues to show he learned a lot from his previous taste of life in the Premier League, when the Clarets were relegated and rarely looked good enough for the top level.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Tom Heaton, 8 -- Much of the captain's work was routine, but a double save in the last minute of the match was as crucial as Barton's goal to the team's win.
DF Matt Lowton, 7 -- It was another solid performance from the right-back, who has been rejuvenated since being dropped last month.
DF Michael Keane, 8 -- Shane Long was expertly marshalled by Keane, who is playing better than ever and, frighteningly, still improving rapidly.
DF Ben Mee, 8 -- The solid double act between Mee and Keane was impenetrable on the day and both centre-backs displayed their defensive instincts with goal-line clearances.
DF Stephen Ward, 7 -- Ward is unshowy but continues to play a key role in the back four. The team's record with Ward in the side is phenomenal.
MF George Boyd, 6 -- As usual there was plenty of running until the dying seconds from Boyd, but his final ball lacked quality.
MF Dean Marney, 6 -- Booked for a typically late challenge, Marney often seemed a step or two off the pace in the Clarets midfield.
MF Steven Defour, 7 -- An unusual choice on the flank, Defour used the ball intelligently, worked Fraser Forster a couple of times and provided good protection to Ward.
MF Jeff Hendrick, 7 -- It wasn't the most eye-catching display from Hendrick, but his overall form remains good and he is beginning to justify his status as the club's most expensive player ever.
FW Andre Gray, 6 -- On a difficult day for strikers, Gray found it hard to get clear of the outstanding Saints defender Virgil van Dijk.
FW Ashley Barnes, 6 -- Barnes' physicality gives Burnley a solid platform at the top of the pitch, but like Gray he struggled to make a real impact.
Substitutes
MF Joey Barton, NR -- The veteran midfielder came on and scored with one of his first touches, although his free kick took a slight deflection off the wall to wrongfoot Forster. It was like he had never been away.
FW Sam Vokes, NR -- Vokes has looked out of form lately, but this was an improvement on the Wales international's recent displays.
DF James Tarkowski, NR -- Dyche's final change was made to lock the game up and Tarkowski helped to preserve a crucial clean sheet.