CLARKE Carlisle and co are living the Premier League dream – but he is certain it is not a Clarets fairytale.

Many expected Burnley to be a one-season-wonder after earning promotion via the play-offs and celebrating an epic 61-game season in style.

With by far the smallest squad, and budget, to grace English football’s top flight for many a year, such speculation wasn’t entirely unfounded.

But beyond the bank books and balance sheets, there is an underlying belief that continues to prove priceless in keeping Owen Coyle’s men in and around the mid-table spots in the run-up to Christmas.

“The achievement of last season was phenomenal, bordering on fairytale, but as professionals we believe that shows we can compete at this level,” said Carlisle in response to one man’s perception that this season was a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for him and his team-mates.

“We don’t doubt ourselves, our quality; we believe that we can attain enough points to remain in the division.

“But we know that success and failure you treat the same and keep a smile on your face as you work your way along the road.”

Such ‘joie de vivre’ has been met with raised eyebrows by experienced Premier League journalists.

They find it refreshing but equally, perhaps, mildly irreverent.

They wouldn’t expect anyone to be smiling after salvaging a 5-3 scoreline from a 5-0 deficit, as Carlisle was at Upton Park last weekend.

His philosophical approach should not be mistaken for indifference though.

He takes his business very seriously, and has urged Burnley to get back to basics in their quest for a first away win.

The Clarets failed to give themselves a fighting chance of achieving it at West Ham last Saturday.

“It is hard to come away to a Premier League side and give them a one, two, three, four or five-goal start. That is nigh on impossible (to pull back),” said the 30-year-old.

“It is fantastic that we came back into the game and applied some pressure, but it is easy to play when you are five-down as the pressure is off.”

The central defender would have been forgiven for feeling beleaguered after conceding five for the second away game this season.

That defeat took the goals against tally, away from home, up to 25.

But instead Carlisle was bullish about turning their form around, starting with today’s lunchtime game at Portsmouth.

“Conceding five goals away from home could be demoralising, but with this squad I don’t believe that it is,” he said.

“We are learning on a daily and weekly basis. We will analyse what has happened and make ourselves better as individuals and as a team.

“Our manager has an ethos that reflects his playing style.

“He loves getting the ball wide, getting the ball into the box and entertaining the hardworking fans who pay their moneyto watch us.

“I think that we contribute every week, but for us to improve we need to be better defensively as a team.

“We need to sense danger.”

He added: “Every team has excellent strikers, supporting midfield players and defenders.

"But it’s about being professional and being focused on what is an average 96 minutes these days.

“The minute you switch off, you are exposed. You can’t afford, as a team, to give 10 chances.

“As Tottenham and West Ham showed against us, they will score the majority of them.

“We need to be more disciplined defensively, but we need to retain our attacking prowess.”