Clarets have adopted new attitude on return

The 31-year-old midfielder was on the Clarets’ books two seasons ago when they were relegated straight back to the Championship, having failed to win any of their opening 10 league games.

Sean Dyche’s side improved, taking four points off Manchester City, but they suffered a number of slender defeats down the stretch meaning plaudits for their performances mattered little to Jones.

This time around Jones, whose team host Swansea today, knows that results will mean far more than displays and has asserted that a more experienced group will be aiming to follow the recent promoted sides by taking points off the bigger clubs in the division.

“I felt last time there was a bit of that feeling of: ‘Oh, we’ve played really well against Man United away but didn’t get the result’ – that’s not good enough,” Jones explained.

“We feel that we’ve moved on from that and results are the priority. I’m not naive in thinking you can’t take positives from good performances, especially away at any club in the Premier League, but we need to learn from our mistakes last time.

“I just think as the season developed, it was the same old story, we played well and got beat, or played well and got a draw at home. It starts to wear thin.

“Last time the first 10 games were a bit of a bedding-in period, where we were thinking: ‘Are we good enough? I’m not quite sure’. This time we’ve got a lot more experience.”

One game in particular sticks in his craw, a 3-1 loss to Manchester United in February when Dyche’s men had gone toe-to-toe at a place which was considered a fortress when Jones was on United’s books as a youngster.

“We got beat 3-1, played really well, but no-one cares,” he added.

“It was an opportunity we felt we should have made the most of because we were better than them on the night. We need to do that better this season – kill off teams when we’re in those positions.

“The mentality of the smaller clubs has changed. Teams were beaten before a ball was kicked, so it seemed, at Old Trafford when I was a kid, but a lot of clubs fancy their chances and have more belief.

“We need to learn from that and go with that mentality. If you’ve gone in with the right mentality, attacked, believed, and sometimes it hasn’t worked for you, you can live with yourself.”