Burnley boss Brian Laws admits Clarke Carlisle was to blame for Saturday's defeat at home to Portsmouth.

Laws was at a loss to explain Carlisle's errors, although he has no doubts the centre-back will not let such a wretched display get him down.

"There is no hiding from it, but Clarke made a right mess of it," assessed Laws.

"But he is big enough and brave enough to stand up and be counted, and he is strong enough to bounce back from that.

"We all make mistakes in football, and they can be costly, but nobody has a perfect game.

"You don't cave in just because you've made a mistake, and it's not as if it's one that has ended our season. It's just made it harder for us."

And it doesn't get any harder for Burnley than next Saturday's trip to Arsenal, with Laws adding: "We have to move on and lift ourselves again because this loss was devastating.

"We have to have the belief, and if we maintain the commitment we showed in the second half, then I'll be a happy man for it."