CHERRIES midfielder Harry Arter is relishing locking horns with Burnley’s Republic of Ireland contingent and knows the high-flying Clarets will prove formidable opponents.

Beaten just twice in their past 11 Premier League games, Sean Dyche’s squad includes four of Arter’s international team-mates – Stephen Ward, Jeff Hendrick, Robbie Brady and Kevin Long.

Arter, Ward, Hendrick and Brady all featured as the Boys in Green suffered World Cup play-off heartbreak at the hands of Denmark earlier this month.

However, despite seeing their dreams of a trip to Russia dashed, Ward, Hendrick and Brady – who all hail from Dublin – have starred in Burnley’s impressive start in the top flight.

Arter told the Daily Echo: “They are having a great season.

“I don’t feel the media has always given Sean Dyche as much praise as he deserves.

“They play football in a good way and games are always difficult against them.

“I speak to the Irish lads when we are away and they love the training and says it is a great set up at Burnley.

“When you hear how positive they are, it is not a great surprise to see how well they have done this season.

“Hopefully, we can approach the game with confidence on the back of four positive results in our past five games.

“And with the fixtures we have coming up, it is a massively important game for us to attack and try to get the three points.

“I watched Burnley against Arsenal on Sunday and thought they were really unlucky not to get a point.

“They have started very well and there is no reason why they can’t maintain it. They have some great players so it is going to be a very difficult game.

“Their league position shows they deserve respect and I don’t think they are in a false position.

“It will be up to us to make sure we perform and try to get the better of them.”