Striker backs Clarets to repeat 2009 run
8:09am Thursday 7th February 2013 in Sport
By Chris Flanagan, Sports reporter
MARTIN Paterson believes Burnley are still capable of repeating their promotion achievements of 2009 – insisting the Clarets will not let a play-off place out of their grasp if they can move into the top six in the near future.
Paterson was part of the Burnley side that gained promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs four years ago, with many of that team reuniting at Turf Moor last night as part of Brian Jensen’s testimonial year.
The Clarets spent a significant part of their promotion season inside the top six and the forward thinks that gave them the belief and hunger needed to ultimately secure their place in the top flight.
Burnley have moved up to seventh in the Championship table in recent weeks, and are now only four points behind sixth-placed Middlesbrough.
But they have not been able to break into the top six during any of the three seasons since relegation, often playing catch-up from mid-table, and Paterson thinks it could make a real difference if they could move into the play-off places in the next few weeks.
“I think yes,” he said. “I think if we could get in there, it’s not a belief of staying in there, it’s a determination to stay in there – if that makes sense.
“We have got a good chance, I think a few others have got a decent chance, and if we carry on working the way we do I think we’re going to be quite close. But it’s up to us to carry on.
“We know that, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. But we are pushing for it, that’s for sure.
“We know we’re close but we’ve got to keep improving and keep pushing if we want to get in there and then cement ourselves in there.”
Paterson came off the bench to score Burnley’s equaliser in their 2-2 draw at Peterborough on Saturday but has said he wants to contribute more goals as the Clarets bid for promotion.
The 25-year-old netted 19 times when Owen Coyle’s side reached the Premier League in 2009 but the Clarets also had a number of other different goalscorers.
Wade Elliott scored the winner in the play-off final against Sheffield United at Wembley and scored six in total that season.
Steven Thompson and Graham Alexander both scored 11 goals with Robbie Blake netting nine times, while Chris Eagles and Chris McCann both found the net on eight occasions.
Such potency in front of goal played a key part in Burnley’s run of only one defeat in their last 14 games of that season.
Asked what it would need for the Clarets to go up this season, given his experience of the club’s previous promotion, Paterson said: “I think it’s a combination.
“Getting a good eight to 12-game run under your belt and goals coming from not just one person but three or four.
“Impacts from the bench like on Saturday as well, and it also takes a little bit of luck.
“But if you’re an honest team like we are, an honest bunch, sometimes you do get that luck. I’m hoping that we do.”
Burnley boss Sean Dyche was yesterday briefly linked with the Nottingham Forest job following Alex McLeish’s departure, having started his career in the youth team at the City Ground.
But the Clarets were quick to dismiss the speculation as without foundation, and Billy Davies was already being widely tipped to return to Forest for a second spell as manager.
Comments(14)
WeOnceGotAboveRovers.
says...
12:14pm Thu 7 Feb 13
Oh how times have changed..
midas
says...
12:50pm Thu 7 Feb 13
Keen O to Get Kean Out wrote:What is the average attendance at Ewood these days? Poor Appleton he has no support from the owners, no support from the board, no support from the "fans" no wonder he looks like Voldermort!
capable ? not so sure , with no fans behind them
makaveli96
says...
1:27pm Thu 7 Feb 13
RoversMCMLXXV
says...
5:41pm Thu 7 Feb 13
midas wrote:The average attendance at Rovers is poor compared to the last 20 odd years thanks to Venkys horrific spell as owners. If attendances continue to drop another 3 or 4 thousand and be on par with much smaller clubs like Barnsley, Burnley or Peterborough, which will confirm how far the club has fallen.
Keen O to Get Kean Out wrote:What is the average attendance at Ewood these days? Poor Appleton he has no support from the owners, no support from the board, no support from the "fans" no wonder he looks like Voldermort!
capable ? not so sure , with no fans behind them
Clubs like Burnley of course have unbelievable loyal support given the size of their town which makes Rovers fans very envious. For example, in their season in the Premier League, Burnleys average attendance was about 18,000. The season prior to that saw an average attendance of around the 10,000 mark and this seasons average attendance is 10,000.
Now that's what I call loyalty.
dingles_do_it_with_themselves
says...
6:41pm Thu 7 Feb 13
go dick-van-dyke
anon starter
says...
6:46pm Thu 7 Feb 13
Patty B
says...
10:48pm Thu 7 Feb 13
WeOnceGotAboveRoversOh how your name has changed. When you get outed under one name, you think it's smart to go with another one. Why are you so chicken?
. wrote:
"The 25-year-old netted 19 times when Owen Coyle’s side reached the Premier League "
Oh how times have changed..
anon starter
says...
11:08pm Thu 7 Feb 13
crammed as a wasp
says...
10:02am Fri 8 Feb 13
RoversMCMLXXV wrote:Nice facts apart from they are completely and 100% wrong:
midas wrote:The average attendance at Rovers is poor compared to the last 20 odd years thanks to Venkys horrific spell as owners. If attendances continue to drop another 3 or 4 thousand and be on par with much smaller clubs like Barnsley, Burnley or Peterborough, which will confirm how far the club has fallen.
Keen O to Get Kean Out wrote:What is the average attendance at Ewood these days? Poor Appleton he has no support from the owners, no support from the board, no support from the "fans" no wonder he looks like Voldermort!
capable ? not so sure , with no fans behind them
Clubs like Burnley of course have unbelievable loyal support given the size of their town which makes Rovers fans very envious. For example, in their season in the Premier League, Burnleys average attendance was about 18,000. The season prior to that saw an average attendance of around the 10,000 mark and this seasons average attendance is 10,000.
Now that's what I call loyalty.
Burnley's average attendance in the season prior to promotion was over 13k, in the Premier League it was 20,600, and then dropped to 15k on relegation, 14k the following season and currently it is nearly 14k for this season.
Yours meanwhile, has fallen from 25k Premier League plastics to 14k, a drop of 11k plastic fans who must all be 'protesting', ANd even more embarrassingly, all this despite you having THE cheapest season tickets in the entire division that are incidentally half the price of Burnley's.
You should be ashamed of yourseves.
midas
says...
11:42am Fri 8 Feb 13
RoversMCMLXXV wrote:Dear me with maths like that its no wonder Rovers are where they are!
midas wrote:The average attendance at Rovers is poor compared to the last 20 odd years thanks to Venkys horrific spell as owners. If attendances continue to drop another 3 or 4 thousand and be on par with much smaller clubs like Barnsley, Burnley or Peterborough, which will confirm how far the club has fallen. Clubs like Burnley of course have unbelievable loyal support given the size of their town which makes Rovers fans very envious. For example, in their season in the Premier League, Burnleys average attendance was about 18,000. The season prior to that saw an average attendance of around the 10,000 mark and this seasons average attendance is 10,000. Now that's what I call loyalty.Keen O to Get Kean Out wrote: capable ? not so sure , with no fans behind themWhat is the average attendance at Ewood these days? Poor Appleton he has no support from the owners, no support from the board, no support from the "fans" no wonder he looks like Voldermort!
.
What is the average attendance and, bless, still blaming Venkys for the missing 10,000? is that a 40% drop in gates this year?
.
If the attendance at Rovers went down by another 3 or 4 thousand you would be under 10k!!
WeOnceGotAboveRovers.
says...
11:50am Fri 8 Feb 13
midas
says...
2:19pm Fri 8 Feb 13
WeOnceGotAboveRoversbigger perhaps, but only a Rovers fan would ever describe it as superior! You really need to do better if you want us to think you are a Burnley fan!
. wrote:
Let's face it, no matter how we try to dress it up, Blackburn have always had far superior support to us. Even this season when crowds have dropped dramatically, for whatever reason, they still have better attendances than we do. Let us try not to see the red mist... please.
RoversMCMLXXV
says...
10:00pm Fri 8 Feb 13
crammed as a wasp wrote:Our support has dropped for a reason - Venkys.
RoversMCMLXXV wrote:Nice facts apart from they are completely and 100% wrong:
midas wrote:The average attendance at Rovers is poor compared to the last 20 odd years thanks to Venkys horrific spell as owners. If attendances continue to drop another 3 or 4 thousand and be on par with much smaller clubs like Barnsley, Burnley or Peterborough, which will confirm how far the club has fallen.
Keen O to Get Kean Out wrote:What is the average attendance at Ewood these days? Poor Appleton he has no support from the owners, no support from the board, no support from the "fans" no wonder he looks like Voldermort!
capable ? not so sure , with no fans behind them
Clubs like Burnley of course have unbelievable loyal support given the size of their town which makes Rovers fans very envious. For example, in their season in the Premier League, Burnleys average attendance was about 18,000. The season prior to that saw an average attendance of around the 10,000 mark and this seasons average attendance is 10,000.
Now that's what I call loyalty.
Burnley's average attendance in the season prior to promotion was over 13k, in the Premier League it was 20,600, and then dropped to 15k on relegation, 14k the following season and currently it is nearly 14k for this season.
Yours meanwhile, has fallen from 25k Premier League plastics to 14k, a drop of 11k plastic fans who must all be 'protesting', ANd even more embarrassingly, all this despite you having THE cheapest season tickets in the entire division that are incidentally half the price of Burnley's.
You should be ashamed of yourseves.
Where have the 10,000 that vanished after your 1 season in the Prem?
I take it they're not plastics then?
Last time we were in this division we averaged 19,000. Are they plastics?
If our tickets are half the price, what does that say about the owners of Bonleh? Are they taking the p1ss out of you? I thought Bonleh was the peoples club? B0llocks. Your fans are as fickle and plastic as every other clubs - including Rovers.
Keen O to Get Kean Out says...
12:03pm Thu 7 Feb 13