Big Sam on: Burnley

Sam Allardyce faced the media on Thursday ahead of Saturday's Barclays Premier League game at Burnley.

The manager spoke of his desire to land back-to-back wins for the first time this season and has challenged his side to show a level of consistency

Is everyone back on time and in shape from the international break?

SA: "Yeah, the last one in was Enner, he came in last night. He's in for a recovery session today we'll see how he gets on. It was good to see him hitting the goal trail while he was away, hopefully he'll do the same against Burnley. Obviously with the length of the travel and potential fatigue we need to take extra caution, but he should be fine to play against Burnley."

Have the owners indicated their happiness at the way the club is playing as well as the results?

SA: "The owners have never questioned the style of play ever. They've never said to me I have to change my style, it's a myth that they have.

"They want better results than last season, we all do. And we've started to do that and we're playing well at the same time. We've recruited well over the summer. But it's still early into the season, a truer reflection of a squad's strength starts around 10 or 12 games. We're in a good moment so far, I'm still disappointed our points total isn't higher than it is. We should have more than ten, at least 13 or 14 for me. But all in all things are looking good.

"The main thing for me on Saturday is to see whether the players have the mentality to remain as consistent as they have been and to see if we can get back to back wins for the first time this time this season. It'll be a tough game as Burnley are a well-organised, extremely fit side who make life difficult, even though they haven't won yet. It'll be a big mental test and a good indicator of where we are."

Given the limited resources at Burnley, how difficult do you think Sean Dyche's job is?

SA: "It's a very difficult job. These days the expectations are high and pressure builds on managers very quickly. He's still looking for that first win which is always difficult. But once that happens, the confidence builds and a feelgood factor within the squad grows.

"Their last game they drew 2-2 away to Leicester with a late goal, which probably felt like a win. They've struggled for goals but apart from that they've done well to adapt to life in the Premier League."

Will Mark Noble be back, and if he is how big a boost will that be?

SA: "He's back in training this week so hopefully he'll be ready for the weekend. Having him back will be huge for us as he's been fantastic for us since my time here."

With new players such as Alex Song and Morgan Amalfitano, is it a given players like Noble will come straight back in?

SA: "I don't know if it's a given, but these are the decisions you have to make as a manager. Sometimes you have to disappoint players for benefit of the team, you can't play everyone. My duty as manager is to make sure the strongest team possible plays against Burnley against on Saturday."

What did you make of the whole situation surrounding Raheem Sterling asking to sit the game out?

SA: "I think people haven't got enough to write about over the international break so they make a big fuss about the Raheem Sterling thing. I think he's done exactly the right thing if he's feeling fatigued.

"He's a very talented young man that you can't overuse. You have to consider his situation. He's 19, he went to the World Cup in Brazil, then went on Liverpool's pre-season tour of America and then comes back and starts the season. So he's had very little time to rest and recover, most players have a full six week break and he hasn't had that. It's not surprising that fatigue has settled in physically and perhaps mentally as well.

How would you respond if a player came up to you and asked to sit a game out through fatigue?

SA: "It completely depends on the player's situation. How old they are, are they coming back from injury, have they had a busy schedule? There are so many different things to take into account with each player.

"In Sterling's case he's been doing a marathon. Not only in the summer but last season he was fantastic and Liverpool almost won the league. Without the necessary time to recover it's not surprising. More players will experience fatigue as the season goes on. Especially in December as there's no winter break."