Burnley down but not out – yet
MUST WIN: ONLY VICTORY AGAINST HULL WILL DO
Relegation battle intensifies with QPR looking doomed and Sunderland desperate for points against Everton London
Burnley’s seemingly doomed attempt to avoid relegation from the Premier League reaches last-chance saloon tomorrow when failure to beat Hull City will send them down.
Sean Dyche’s side have earned plenty of plaudits for their style of play this season, but not enough goals or points.
When they stunned champions Manchester City 1-0 in March, they were one point behind 17th place and survival appeared to be well within their grasp.
Five defeats and a goalless home draw with Tottenham Hotspur in their next six matches, however, leaves the humble Lancashire club needing a sporting miracle.
With three games left to play, they have 26 points, comparedwith 17th-placed Hull’s 34. They must beat Hull, Stoke City and Aston Villa and hope for favours elsewhere.
Despite their predicament, Dyche said his team remain motivated and midfielder Matt Taylor insists the fight goes on.
“There are three games left and we’ll continue to fight,” Taylor told a Lancashire newspaper.
“We won’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ll dust ourselves down and go again.”
Although Burnley’s Premier League status looks almost certain to last only one season, as it did in 2009-2010, fellow promoted side Queens Park Rangers are also in dire straights.
QPR, on 27 points, will be doomed by the time they travel to Man City on Sunday, should Hull beat Burnley, Aston Villa beat West Ham United and Newcastle United beat West Bromwich Albion tomorrow.
Third-from-bottom Sunderland, who are a point behind Hull with a game in hand, could put the jitters up the teams just above them with victory in tomorrow’s early kickoff at Everton.
A Sunderland win would take them, for a few hours at least, above free-falling Newcastle United who have lost eight league games in a row. –