BRIAN Laws has welcomed a return to form for Tyrone Mears, after admitting the right back suffered a relegation hangover.

The former West Ham and Derby defender looked out of sorts at the start of the season after summer speculation about a move back to the Premier League failed to come to fruition.

Mears’ frustrations spilled over onto the pitch when he picked up his first red card of his career for a poor challenge against Swansea last month.

But a brief spell out of the team, allied with the end of the transfer window, appears to have given Mears a new focus to help Burnley achieve their promotion ambitions.

“Tyrone was very good for us last year FROM BACK PAGE and was probably our most consistent player and he wants to play in the Premier League, as everybody does,” said Laws.

“I think his mind probably wasn’t quite where it should have been because of that.

“Sometimes it affects players in different ways, and maybe it affected Tyrone more than he thought.

“But he’s got his head right now and he’s very focused.

“You’d have to question his body language in the first few games.

“You’ve got to read into that. But we’ve done a lot of talking with him and he’s very settled now and focused what he’s doing, and you can see him playing with a smile on his face.

“He’s enjoying it, and he’s playing some exceptionally good football.

“In the last few games he’s been outstanding.

“He’s going to be an important player for us when he’s on his game – not only defensively but he gives us another attacking option.”

But after recording two clean sheets in a row, Laws believes his players are benefiting from a settled back four.

“Stability at the back has been very good, and I think we’ve shown that in the way we’ve kept clean sheets,” said the Burnley boss.

“I’m pleased with that, and everyone’s played their part. But it’s not just about the back four, it’s the ones who are in front of them as well. They’ve probably not been as exposed as they have previously, and that tells you the players in front of them are doing their jobs as well.”

And Laws is pleased with the way winger Chris Eagles, in particular, is taking on defensive duties.

“It seems it clicks at times, his understanding isn’t just about going one way,” he said.

“He’s always been accused of maybe neglecting the other side of his game and therefore it’s one-way traffic.

“But he’s learning and working hard and he’s appreciating what we’re trying to achieve.

“He’s asking the right questions about where he wants to be. I’m talking to him a lot on the touchline, and he’s putting in a shift.

“If he does the whole package what a player he is.”

Eagles has starred on the left in the absence of Ross Wallace, who limped off with a hamstring problem in the first half of last week’s goalless draw at Crystal Palace. But the former Preston winger could return this afternoon.

“He’s trained the last couple of days so we’re delighted with his recovery,” said Laws.

“That brings him into the squad. He’ll be involved.”