TENSION IN THE AIR

Turf Moor may have been joyous as the final whistle sounded but it was a tense place to be in the first half.

Burnley's sensational home record this season has partly been down to the superb support they have received but on Tuesday in the opening 45 minutes, for probably the first time this season, there were plenty of nerves in the stands.

It was something match-winner George Boyd spoke about after the game and as the Clarets struggled to get going in an entirely forgettable first half so the frustration from the stands at loose passes and loose touches increased, until Boyd's goal settled everyone's nerves.

Andre Gray again seemed to be a target for plenty of criticism and it was far from his best night. He remains a work in progress, but Burnley would be considerably worse off within him this season.

A DEAL FOR GEORGE BOYD

Talking of Boyd, his second goal of the season came at just about the perfect time.

There's certainly an argument to say he should perhaps have scored more this campaign but it was another valuable contribution defensively and offensively against Stoke City.

But while other members of the Clarets squad are signing new deals left, right and centre, uncertainty remains over Boyd, with his three-year contract set to come an end this summer.

On Tuesday Matt Lowton, whose deal didn't expire until 2018, signed a new contract, while earlier this year Stephen Ward, Dean Marney and Kevin Long all signed one-year extensions to deals that were up this summer.

Boyd has been written off several times this season but the 31-year-old has continually forced his way back into Sean Dyche's plans, and while Robbie Brady and Johann Berg Gudmundsson will be knocking on the door for starts in wide positions next season, Boyd would surely remain a good squad player for another year at least.

STEVEN DEFOUR'S ROLE

The Belgium midfielder returned to the team in the same position he was occupying when he picked up his hamstring injury in the win over Leicester City - on the left of a midfield four.

Just having Defour's creativity on the pitch is an asset for Burnley but it remains unclear how to get the best out of him in a 4-4-2.

On Monday Dyche had compared Defour's role on the left to Christian Eriksen for Spurs, although the Clarets require more defensively from their man than Tottenham do from Eriksen, who is given more licence to roam.

It's not a perfect solution and there were times on Tuesday, especially in the first half, when Defour looked frustrated when he wasn't given the ball when he had space.

But he is competing with Jeff Hendrick, Joey Barton and Ashley Westwood for a place in central midfield and, for now, he may have to continue to try and influence games from the left.