Not-so-wacko Jacko is a smash hit for Burnley

AT this rate, Burnley might become the second Premier League club to erect a statue of Michael Jackson outside their ground. Just joking, but you get the gist of the job that the caretaker boss is doing. Jackson has been in charge for four games since critics blasted Burnley for sacking Sean Dyche, and has now won three and drawn one. Fulham’s former chairman Mohamed Al Fayed once commissioned a statue of the late singer Michael Jackson outside Craven Cottage to the bemusement of football fans. Burnley’s own ‘Jacko’ has a long way to go before he is immortalised outside Turf Moor, but saving their Premier League status isn’t a bad start. Jackson — or ‘Magic Mike’ as some supporters are calling their caretaker — looked awkward when asked about the Burnley fans’ new favourite song. They sang it for a good 20 minutes after full-time, and the lyrics of the chant go: ‘We’ve got super Michael Jackson. He knows exactly what we need.’ He said he was ‘embarrassed’ by the attention and cringed at the idea that he might win April’s Manager of the Month. He was then clearly uncomfortable at the suggestion that he could be handed the Burnley job on a full-time basis, hinting he prefers working in the background. Jackson likes operating in the shadows. He says he’s a ‘coach’ rather than a ‘manager’, and that the grass is his domain instead of these pesky press conferences. Whatever he is doing, though, it’s working. Ten points in the wake of Dyche’s sacking is a remarkable return and Jackson was too polite to expand on what he’d changed when asked. He insisted it was primarily down to confidence and team spirit, the latter of which was typified by the 24 hours experienced by captain James Tarkowski. Last Friday, Tarkowski got word from his family that there was a problem with his young daughter. Sick with worry, he travelled from the team hotel in Watford to his home in Manchester. Early on Saturday morning, Tarkowski phoned Jackson, saying: ‘I’m ready to go. I want to play.’ His family was fine, thankfully, and the defender travelled back to Watford. He arrived at the hotel, immediately boarded the team bus, then started the game. Tarkowski’s unfortunate own goal after just eight minutes gave Watford hope that they might not drop down to the Championship. But Burnley never gave up. Jack Cork and Josh Brownhill’s goals in the 83rd and 86th minutes got them a late win, sparking jubilation in the away end. Roy Hodgson’s Watford are not mathematically down as of yet — but they need to win their last four matches and rely on other results to survive. It won’t happen. Hodgson was unwell on Saturday. The 74-year-old former England manager managed to sit in the dugout but his assistant Ray Lewington handled his media duties, and later admitted that Watford’s players were ‘devastated’ following Saturday’s defeat. By contrast, Burnley are buoyed by their turnaround, with Jackson showing he’s a sensible manager who is capable of leading them away from trouble.