MATT Lowton believes the Clarets’ togetherness will be key to achieving their Championship title bid.

Leaders Burnley boast the best attack, allied with one of the meanest defences in the division.

But Lowton feels it is not just their strengths on the pitch which have inspired a push for immediate promotion back to the Premier League, as champions - it is a unity off the pitch which is as imperative for the full back.

“We all stick together which is a great thing to have,” said the former Aston Villa defender.

“The manager has been pivotal in that because it’s how he works.

“I spoke to the manager in the summer and he told me that he had a good group of lads that were all in it together.

“But I don’t think until you’re in that dressing room you realise how much the lads are all together.

“Everyone, every day, all working hard, covering each other’s backs.

“Everybody gets on and it’s definitely the best group of lads I’ve been with and that shows in the games.”

He added: “We’re all going for the same goal and they’ve bought in to what the gaffer wants and it’s showing. It definitely shines through.

“There have been times this season where we’ve been off it slightly but we’ve won games and I think with some teams they’d have gone under.

“The stability here is very good. The manager is very keen on players keeping their shirt if they’re playing well. It’s good and the more you play together as a back four, with Tom behind you, we get to know each other inside out.”

And Lowton says much of the credit for the Clarets’ camaraderie must go to manager Sean Dyche, for his careful attention to recruitment.

“He did keep a lot of players (from last season), he lost some good players but he’s brought players in that have done the same thing,”

“He does character checks when he signs players to make sure that they’re not just good footballers. They need to be down to earth and buy in to his ethos.

“Every player he’s signed has done that which keeps the stability together.

“There’s not one player in the dressing room that doesn’t get on with everyone else.

“We’ve all had similar upbringings and we all know how difficult it’s been to get where we are now. It’s easy to talk to the lads because you always share a common interest.”

And Lowton, who started his career at Sheffield United, feels it is a far cry from Aston Villa, the club he left behind in the summer before making a £1million-plus move to Turf Moor.

“I don’t like to single clubs out, but when I was at Villa there were cliques here and there,” he said.

“Players would always sit with certain players and people would always speak to certain people.

“You got to a Saturday and it just didn’t feel like everyone had your back.

“It was easy to blame other people but here every day you come in everybody speaks to each other.

“You’ll come in, have your breakfast, talk to somebody different about something else.

“Everyone is so down to earth. It’s just easy to talk to them and that’s been from the first day.

“Every day, coming in, I’m with a great set of lads who are easy to get on with.”