Cork: Staying afloat is up to Clarets
AS MUCH as Burnley would welcome a helping hand in their survival fight, Jack Cork says they cannot rely on favours.
The Clarets midfielder admits it is hard not to follow Leeds and Everton’s games in the hope they will stumble in their battle with Burnley to avoid filling the last relegation place.
“It’s tough not to watch their games and keep an eye on them, but if we don’t get the points, we go down, it’s as simple as that,” he said..
“It’s ultimately down to us whether we stay up or go down and we’ve got to get the points.” Aston Villa burst
BURNLEY 1 3 Burnley’s bubble as they suffered their first loss under interim manager Mike Jackson in his fifth game.
After the high of a three-game winning streak, they defended badly for all three Villa goals and failed to create enough decent chances.
Defensive linchpin James Tarkowski came off with a hamstring issue to add to their already-long injured list.
Cork refused to be downbeat, saying: “We’re in a great position compared to where we were a few weeks ago. We’ve got games to play, and, yeah, we’re optimistic.” Villa raced into their 2-0 lead inside 31 minutes through former Clarets striker Danny Ings and Emiliano Buendia.
Ollie Watkins headed home the third seven minutes into the second half before Maxwel Cornet scored a consolation effort in stoppage time.
Villa defender Matty Cash hailed Buendia, who played a starring role with a goal and an assist. “Emi is a top player,” Cash said. “We’ve seen it in glimpses and he was next level.” BURNLEY’S RUN-IN: Sun: Tottenham (a); May 19: Aston Villa (h); May 22: Newcastle (h).