Now its down to the nitty gritty
AFTER the international break, it's down to the endgame business.
Burnley have six games to ensure they at least have a play-off place to show for this marvellous campaign - some teams have a match or two more - and through March they have shown they are in the right frame of mind to do it.
The comeback at home against Crystal Palace saw them show the don't-give-up spirit that boss Owen Coyle seems to have instilled in them and this also applied when Robbie Blake relished the chance to smash a winner past Plymouth at Home Park just before the international break.
Going to Ipswich is never an easy task and to come back with a point was a result most supporters would have been happy with while in terms of taking chances Burnley did what they have been promising to do all season when they crushed Nottingham Forest 5-0.
The sequence of results puts them four points clear of Preston and ahead of the other teams currently outside the play-off zone. So let's - although results have a habit of rarely turning out this way! - speculate on what Coyle's team would hope to get from their remaining games.
Out of their remaining games Burnley would hope to get a point at Derby this Saturday and at least that at Southampton on April 25.
Although it is no easy task they really need to beat QPR at home on April 11, which leaves three crucial matches. On Easter Monday they could do themselves the world of good by at least holding Cardiff to a draw and neutralising one of the Welsh side's games - they have two in hand over the Clarets - and face a real battle with Sheffield United at Turf Moor on the evening of Monday, April 20. In terms of confidence if nothing else, it is a battle they need to win against a side they may meet again if both secure play-off places.
That leaves Bristol City at home on the final day of the regular season, Sunday, May 3 - this could still be very important but as Bristol have faded over recent weeks the Clarets' confidence has grown.
For once Burnley's fate is in their own hands and if they can keep harvesting the type of results they did through March, after a roller-coaster ride since Christmas, supporters have to believe they can clinch a play-off place this time.
It would be a just reward for the attacking style in which they have played their football this season.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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