Defeated but not downbeat would be the general consensus as Bristol City head into the international break on the back of two losses.
Usually, two consecutive defeats would have the pessimists armed and ready to pick faults and brace themselves for the inevitable slide down the Championship table. However, it's difficult to feel negative after leaving Turf Moor following another narrow loss.
Yes, City were chasing the ball for long periods of the game and the possession stats would suggest it was a completely one-sided affair. Although the truth is that it was anything but and for the second time in four days, City fell short against two sides who have ambitions to make a swift return to the Premier League.
Burnley enjoyed 72 per cent of the ball in total but much of that was passing it around the defence, waiting for any gaps to appear among City's disciplined defence and midfield. The opening 15 minutes, which included City falling behind, gave the impression that the Robins were in for a long and arduous afternoon in the sunshine.
But once Nigel Pearson had his side settled, they grew into the contest and were able to frustrate their opponents and for periods in the second half, Burnley looked as though they were running out of ideas.
The way City conceded the goals were frustrating and that will be worked on over the two weeks off but they can look ahead with real positivity going forward. Here's the verdict after the 2-1 loss at Turf Moor.
Putting things into perspective
So we're 10 games into the season and as the old adage goes, that is when the table starts to take shape. As of Sunday morning, the Robins sit in ninth on point adrift of the playoffs.
There won't be many people who wouldn't have taken that before the season got underway and City have navigated their way through a series of tricky tests. There's also the reminder that six of those games have come away from home.
Arguably, City could and probably should be higher in the league. The referee cost them against Hull and individual errors have proved costly in games against Sunderland, Norwich and Blackpool.
There is no doubt that will remain a concern and it proves there is still plenty of work to do from a defensive perspective but that is counteracted by the fact there remains progress all over the pitch, emphasised by the performances of the last two matches.
At the moment, it seems those days of last season where City concede first and collapse are long behind them. They're drilled, organised and most importantly, showing the same levels of dedication and commitment in each fixture to succeed.
The loss at Norwich was deflating knowing that City should have come out of the game with at least a point if not three. Against Burnley, it was a completely different test against a side who have invested heavily this summer.
City haven't had a more difficult test this season and they rose to the challenge. They were never going to play them off the park so hitting them on the counter-attack with numbers was going to be their most effective prospect of pulling off a result.
They were given a rude awakening in the opening 20 minutes when Burnley's wingers tormented City's defence with the space left behind the wing-backs. City regrouped, closed off the space and that was an important sign that they can be adaptable when they need to be.
After Wells fired in the equaliser, the atmosphere inside Turf Moor turned on its head and it wasn't long before Burnley's supporters were beginning to grow frustrated at what was on show. That continued into the second half and only a cross from the right was another to undo City with Jay Rodriguez, arguably too good for this level, to show his class in the box.
Pearson was understandably disappointed at the full-time whistle, not because his side were battered from pillar to post but because he knows they left empty-handed against a side who will be right up there in May.
Tired legs but no excuses...
There might have been a reason why City looked like they were running through treacle for the final 20 minutes of the game. Even at the beginning of the second half Pearson's players didn't seem to be showing their usual energetic, industrial selves.
In reality, it was probably the worst time they could have played Burnley. Kompany's team really made them work hard off the ball as they maintained possession, looking for gaps by spraying it from left to right.
Coming off the back of the game at Norwich, there's no doubt Burnley would have been more suitably prepared. They played their Lancashire rivals Preston on Tuesday, giving them an extra day's rest without having to put in the mileage.
City, on the other hand, arrived back to BS3 at around 3am on Thursday morning and were back on the road on Friday to make the journey up north. Having given everything against Norwich, it showed yesterday and would have been a factor in how the game panned out.
Pearson named an unchanged side for the fourth consecutive game which wasn't totally surprising but many were expecting a fresh pair of legs or two. He made two changes at half-time in bringing off Alex Scott and Tommy Conway for Joe Williams and Antoine Semenyo but the pair failed to spark the energy needed to disrupt Burnley's rhythm.
Pearson isn't one to look for excuses and emphasised that fact after the game by claiming it didn't have an impact on the performance. Although he did admit the early changes were necessary and probably pre-meditated.
He said: "The players were fine. We felt we had to freshen it up. We've done everything we can this week to try and keep players available. We started with the same team and made early changes because it felt necessary to try and give a bit more energy to the team."
Nahki Wells...
Undoubtedly City's best performer on the pitch (although Zak Vyner pushed him close). He's a player who continues to make the most of his opportunity in the team and he's making himself undroppable.
His goal, his fifth in seven league starts, just encapsulated his performance which was tireless and enthusiastic. Perhaps he felt he had a point to prove against his former club but his energy levels for a player who turned 32 this summer are something to applaud.
At the full-time whistle against Norwich, he collapsed to the ground completely exhausted after 90 minutes covering every blade of grass on the pitch. No showed no signs of slowing down yesterday.
He ran the channels brilliantly to stretch the defence and showed his defensive side of the game by playing deeper, leaving Tommy Conway as the main striker up top. His glancing header in the second half from Mark Sykes' cross was also unlucky not to loop over the Burnley stopper.
On top of that, what was great to see was his passion. You could see it in his celebration after his equaliser, running towards the corner flag to celebrate. Pearson made note of it at the full-time whistle, praising his enthusiasm to continue improving his career.
He said: "(He was) Really good. He's not going away on international duty so he can run himself into the ground.
"Nahki has been very keen now that he has had his opportunity to stay in the side and he's very enthusiastic. Even in his 30s, he's still got a lot of positive energy about his career and I think that is very important."
The support
There were around 1,000 fans in the away end at Burnley which is a great effort in itself considering the distance and they didn't stop making a noise tucked into that section of the ground.
Those who did the doubleheader last week with Norwich included are deserving of a medal but City's run of away matches in the first 10 matches of the season has been one big magical mystery tour of the UK.
The early season has thrown up some gruelling trips to Hull, Burton, Wigan, Wycombe, Blackpool, Blackburn, Norwich and Burnley so it's fair to say there's been plenty of miles covered. With the rising cost of living including the petrol prices and rail fares there's no doubt it is a financial burden to hack it so far across the country.
Fortunately, those trips will be considerably shorter after the international break with games against Birmingham, West Brom and Reading as the next three away days but kudos to those who have travelled in numbers in those eight fixtures.
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