PUT A CORK IN OLD PALS’ ACT

FORGET the old pals’ act – this is now definitely the old pals’ axe.

There will be no love lost when Burnley’s Jack Cork comes face-toface with Newcastle pair Jonjo Shelvey and Federico Fernandez at Turf Moor tomorrow night.

The three were once teammates at Swansea, but this is now the battle of the basement, a scrap for Premier League survival.

Friendship on the pitch doesn’t come into it when getting those valuable three points.

Burnley have snatched just two measly points from the last 15 and beating Newcastle – and his old pals – is a priority for Cork.

He said: “Yes, I played with Jonjo a bit and Federico has gone there now. I like Jonjo and Fedy is a good guy – yes, both nice lads.

“But you can’t have any sympathy for a pal – football is always like that.

“You have lots of friends in football, but you have got to look after your own team and your own people around you.

“It’s difficult when results haven’t been going our way. I feel we’ve done OK at times, but we’ve had some bad performances. With the amount of games we’ve had, it’s been tough trying to be as physical as we have been. We should be trying to get back to that.”

Cork (right) has felt the rigours of trying to repeat the heroics of the last campaign when Burnley finished seventh.

But he’s finding the perfect way to relax – by buying a couple of racehorses with a helping hand from football legend Michael Owen.

Cork added: “We’re going to buy a couple of two-year-olds. We’re talking to Michael about it. It’s nice to take your mind off football.”