IT MIGHT not have been the most attractive game of football – and that’s putting in mildly! – but the point at Newcastle was another splendid result for the Clarets.

I think many of us would have taken a point before kick-off (how many times have we said that this season?) because it pushed us even closer to the magic 40-point mark.

In essence, and whisper it quietly, I think we’re safe as it stands.

That’s some achievement given the calendar has only just clicked into March and we went through a period just a few weeks ago when some people were even questioning whether Sean Dyche’s time was up!

Just shows what a funny old game football is.

Granted, those dissenting voices were in the minority but I’m not sure where the lack of faith in the boss ever came from. I’m hoping those who chose to doubt him might think again the next time we’re on a run like that.

Saturday saw Nick Pope and the defence keep another clean sheet – an 11th of the campaign no less – and while we weren’t perhaps at the races up at the other end, this trend of being as tight as cramp when it comes to conceding can only stand us in good stead not just for the rest of this campaign but going forward into next year.

For a team like this, it’s very much about constant progression and I think the fact we’ve got several players being talked about in the context of the national squad ahead of the summer shows massive progression.

Results aren’t always going to tell the true story of a club (although admittedly they are the marker used for success) and I think sometimes it’s easy to forget that.

Just having players being watched by Gareth Southgate is a huge feather in the cap for both the club and Dyche and while Pope is the only name regularly on the squad lists, I can’t see that trend continuing for long.

James Tarkowski and Ben Mee have been the best English centre half pairing for much of this campaign while I think you’ll struggle to find a more complete left back out there at the moment than Charlie Taylor.

The decision is down to Southgate but if the lads keep turning in the performances then you never know, the Three Lions could be packed with Clarets in the pursuit of glory this summer.

And no Premier League table will ever tell that story…