JACK Cork described it as “a chance missed”. That is how much the barometer for Burnley’s season has shifted.

The last time they faced Spurs – a 5-0 thrashing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December – the Clarets were in the midst of a run that left them too close to the bottom three for comfort.

Fast forward three months and it is a very different scenario.

A run of six games without defeat before the weekend, including back-to-back wins against Leicester and Manchester United, and Turf Moor was daring to dream of more European nights.

In addition, a win over Spurs would have lifted them above Jose Mourinho’s men in the table.

And such was their first-half dominance that looked the most likely outcome.

Dwight McNeil caused a shell-shocked Spurs rearguard no end of problems down the left, capitalising on the space he was afforded to devastating effect, and supplying the cross which ultimately led to Chris Wood marking his return to the side after injury with a goal.

Eric Dier only half-cleared the delivery to Jay Rodriguez, whose initial shot was merely parried by Hugo Lloris, and Wood was alert to the rebound to prod home his 11th of the season. A Premier League personal best.

But other chances were missed or saved and with only one goal to show for Burnley’s impressive play there was always the threat of Spurs getting back into the game.

The two midfield changes made by Mourinho altered the dynamic and just minutes after coming off the bench Giovani Lo Celso robbed Rodriguez of possession and fed a ball to Erik Lamela that had Ben Mee overstretching and clipping the Argentine on the edge of the box.

Spurs had missed a focal point and fire power in the absence of the injured Harry Kane and Son Heung-min but Dele Alli stepped up to send England team-mate Nick Pope the wrong way from the spot to equalise.

Burnley might have known they would not have it so easy in the second half. After all, they have never beaten any team managed by Mourinho, and the Portuguese was not about to surrender his personal record as Spurs looked to avoid a third straight Premier League defeat.

But there was no desire to settle for a point. Far from it. Indeed substitute Matej Vydra was unlucky not to snatch a late win, forcing a good save from Lloris, while Wood should have earlier had a penalty after being flattered by Davinson Sanchez.

It says much for Burnley’s recent turnaround that there was a tinge of disappointment with a point at home to last season’s Champions League finalists.

“We set about it the best way we could have,” said Cork.

“We were by far the better team in the first half and they made a couple of changes, came at us quite quickly which we probably thought they were going to at the start of the second half. But towards the end of the game we got back in it and we had the better chances, and the better chances throughout the game.

“It’s just disappointing because it feels like a bit of a chance missed on the back of a great run for us.

“Tottenham were Champions League finalists last year and have some great players and we really took it to them. They’ve had a tough couple of weeks with the amount of injuries they’ve had but they’ve still got to come here and play and we put up a good test for them.”

As it was, the point maintained Burnley’s unbeaten run and kept the Clarets in touch with the European pack – a situation Cork admits he couldn’t have envisaged a few weeks ago.

“We’re in a completely different situation to where we were,” the midfielder added. “We had a lot of tough fixtures coming up and were near the bottom in a tough situation with tough games. But we really pulled together and managed to find some form and confidence that we needed at the time. And credit to everyone at the club – the players, the fans, the staff – everyone pulled together and what could have been a bad season towards the end has turned into what could hopefully be an exciting one.”