Charlie Taylor was left with mixed emotions after impressing off the bench in Burnley’s 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United.
The left back replaced Erik Pieters at the break at Bramall Lane with the Clarets already three down after a nightmare first period in South Yorkshire on Saturday.
Making just his third appearance of the season in all competitions, Taylor caught the eye and will hope to have done enough to start for the first time in the league this season when West Ham come to Turf Moor this weekend.
The 26-year-old had been looking to build on a breakthrough campaign last time around but a pre-season injury handed Pieters the chance to impress, the summer signing from Stoke having done enough for Sean Dyche to give him the shirt for the first part of the season.
"No footballer wants to be sat on the bench or in the stands, everyone wants to play, but only 11 can do,” said Taylor.
“It's hard. but you've just got to take your chance when you get given it.
"It was strange scenario coming on when you're already 3-0 down. Realistically you're not going to win the game from that position.
“You've just got to go on, give it your all and play with pride. We just had to see if we could get back in to the game in any way.”
The Blades defeat, a third in a row in the Premier League, was one that saw the Clarets alarmingly off the pace in the first period before making more of a game of it in the second.
John Lundstram scored the opener 17 minutes in before getting a second two minutes before the break.
John Fleck’s goal 60 seconds later all but ended the game as a contest with the Burnley backline all at sea.
"I don't think we were at it from minute one and they were,” said Taylor.
“They were clinical with the chances they had in the first half.
"Once they've gone 3-0 up it's tough. You don't want it to get any worse than three and if we'd have got a goal with one of the chances after half-time, who knows? It might have been different.
"There's no denying that we weren't anywhere near the level we can play at, it was well below our standards and we know that.
“We know we need to put that right now.”
That chance comes with West Ham’s visit to East Lancashire on Saturday.
After a promising start to the season, the Clarets will be keen to get themselves going again against a 13th-placed side who sit a point and a place above them 11 games in.
Taylor believes events at Bramall Lane will be put to one side pretty quickly as Dyche’s men eye a significant improvement back on home soil.
"It's gone now, we know what we did wrong and we know what we need to do to put it right,” he said.
“We can work on that this week and we've got a big game against West Ham on Saturday.”
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