BURNLEY manager Eddie Howe slammed the 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough as the “worst performance of the season”.

The Clarets were the last team to beat Boro, but their 3-1 win in April remains the last game they won at Turf Moor.

That statistic never looked like changing from the moment Nicky Bailey scored a 10th minute opener, which Joe Bennett added to early in the second half.

Howe attempted to make changes within Saturday’s game in an attempt to combat Middlesbrough’s 5-3-2 formation in the second half, using Kieran Trippier and Ross Wallace as wing backs, without success.

“We felt we weren’t in control at all in the first half and we needed to change something,” he said.

“We decided to match them up and go man for man and match their system.

"It gave us more of a foothold into the game but we never really at any stage looked like breaking Middlesbrough down, which is the most disappointing thing.

“They were very organised and dropped deep and put men behind the ball and defended very well. They were very compact.

“Away from home that’s proved a very successful system for them and a successful way of playing with the results they’ve had recently.”

But Howe felt their biggest drawback was a clutch of below-par performances.

“I think you can put it down to the fact that a number of players, for whatever reason, just didn’t perform.

"It’s concerning for us that it was quite a number.

"It’s very rare that you get so many off colour, especially your big players as well who we need to perform if we are to have a chance of getting results,” said the Burnley boss.

“That’s something we’ll have a look at as to why and try to work out.

“I thought it was a poor performance from us. I’ve said in previous weeks we’ve been unlucky and deserved more from the game but (on Saturday) I don’t think we did.

"I thought we were beaten by the better team.

“We had a poor start to the game and conceded quite early.

"Middlesbrough frustrated and made it difficult for us, got bodies behind the ball and we found it difficult to break them down.

“They were very organised, dropped deep and defended very compact.

"Away from home that is proving to be a very successful system for them with the results they have had recently.”

He added: “We were beaten by the better team and in the end it was our worst performance of the season by a long way.

“We left our performance on the training pitch and it’s difficult to work out why.”

Full Suzanne Geldard and Andrew Greaves match analysis plus player ratings in today's Lancashire Telegraph newspaper.