MAYBE it was the early kick-off. Maybe it was the extra hour in bed courtesy of the end of British summertime. Or maybe it was camera shyness. Who knows?

But whatever the cause, Burnley were not quite at it on Sunday lunchtime.

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Under Sean Dyche, the Clarets have earned a well-deserved reputation for a high-energy and highly-effective pressing game, denying the opposition time and space on the ball when out of possession.

And while the philosophy was still evident in patches against a good Everton side, it was noticeably about 10 per cent down on the usual standard.

Naturally, no side operates at 100 per cent all of the time.

But when a team as modestly assembled as Burnley encounters an outfit featuring a £28m striker, half of England’s defence and a midfield blessed with such talent as Gareth Barry and James McCarthy, you really need to be at it from the off.

That sluggishness most obviously manifested itself in the goals the Clarets conceded.

No-one in home colours paid sufficient attention to the run, or rather the light jog, made by Samuel Eto’o for the Toffees’ opener.

Several chances to clear the ball were passed up before Romelu Lukaku scuffed home Everton’s second, and although Eto’o showed superb skill as he curled home the visitor’s third the marking was more the standard you might associate with a testimonial match rather than that of a side fighting for top-flight survival.

Not that Burnley were helped by the continued absence of Dean Marney.

Dyche is right not to rush the player back from injury, but it’s hard to overstate how keenly felt his absence is. Not only would his return to the side add an element of control to the Clarets’ midfield, it would also allow Scott Arfield to resume duties on the right flank where he operates much more effectively.

It sounds as though Marney will be back for Saturday’s trip to the Emirates. We’ll need him.

Arsenal may be injury-ravaged and off the top-four pace but Arsene Wenger’s men still have plenty of match-winners in their ranks. Dyche faces a tough tactical call. Does he stick with 4-4-2 or deploy a more solid looking five across the middle?

Given the Gunners’ slick pass-and-move game, the clever money says flood the midfield with bodies. Yet that tactic was last tried at West Brom and the players simply didn’t adapt to it.

Whatever the decision, the players need to find that extra 10 per cent which went missing against Everton.