SACKO JACKO?
Clarets caretaker admits: I’ve not thought about it!
BURNLEY caretaker boss Mike Jackson insists he has not given a second’s thought to his uncertain future as he attempts to save the club from relegation.
The Clarets’ interim manager has banked a fine 11 points from a possible 21 since taking over from axed Sean Dyche in April.
That run hauled Burnley out of the drop zone – all they need to do now is match or better Leeds’ result today to keep their place in the Premier League.
Jackson has yet to consider whether he might want the job on a permanent basis – or go back to coach the Clarets Under-23s.
“I’ve not even thought about that,” he insisted. “All my thoughts have been on how we can achieve what we want to do. We’ve not spoken about it, we’ve not had time to even think about that.
“There’s been no looking at what I’m going to be doing next and what’s going to be happening, my full focus has been on trying to achieve this.
“Fingers crossed and everything goes how we want it to happen and we’ll have a good Monday!”
Difference
Burnley’s superior goal difference would keep them up in the event that both they and Leeds finish their season with the same result – win, lose or draw.
But Jackson is keen for his team to keep things entirely in their hands by simply beating Newcastle at Turf Moor.
He added: “It’s very difficult. We’ll
speak about that again this afternoon and how we think we can go about it. But I think you just try and win your game. Try and do your job.
“As it goes along, you might see something in terms of other scorelines – but winning is what we’ve got to try to do first.”
The passionate backing Burnley are sure to receive from their supporters could well play a key role in getting them over the line.
However, Jackson has also talked up the importance of his players keeping cool heads across what will be a stressful 90 minutes.
He continued: “There’s going to be a lot of emotion but it’s about reminding them to keep their focus.
“You’ve got to keep those intensity levels right – not too high, not too low.
“If it’s too high you can’t play anyway – so we’ll try to get the balance right.”