BURNLEY'S promotion-clinching win at York in April 1992 is a night that has gone down in Clarets folklore as thousands of fans flocked across the Pennines to see Jimmy Mullen's side end a seven-year exile in Division Four.

Burnley had gone a goal behind at Bootham Crescent but John Deary levelled before John Francis' late strike sparked wild celebrations as promotion and the title was secured.

But the desire to see the job through in Yorkshire was driven by a tongue lashing the squad had received three days earlier, according to Deary, when they failed to get the win they needed at Carlisle that would have landed promotion on the Saturday, with up to 8,000 Clarets in attendance at Brunton Park.

Francis had given Burnley the lead on that occasion just before half-time but the hosts equalised 11 minutes from the end, spoiling the party, and when the Clarets players returned to the dressing room they were on wrong end of a rollicking from Jimmy Mullen.

"We should have won it at Carlisle on the Saturday. The Burnley fans turned out in their thousands in party mood and I think we drew 1-1," remembers Deary, who was to play his part in a moment of history three days later.

"Afterwards in the dressing room there were a few strong words from the manager and coaches. The players all said ‘what’s the problem, we’ll go to York and win it?’. But it was a bit heated."

That row simply spurred the players on to make sure promotion was secured on the Tuesday, with the match delayed by almost half an hour as thousands made the journey across the border.

"What I remember from York is everyone was going there. I think the coach was delayed with all the traffic," said Deary.

"When we came out from the dressing room we saw it was mostly Burnley fans all over the place.

"Even when we went a goal down we never panicked. You can sense it on the pitch, we all had a look and thought ‘let’s get going’. We carried on and everyone knows the history now. It was a fantastic night."

Burnley had ended the previous season with play-off heartbreak, losing out to Torquay at the semi-final stage, and then in pre-season jetted out to Russia for a training camp.

That trip helped bring the players together, although it was more through defiance at the state of the camp, certainly compared to today's plush pre-season jaunts.

"We had that squad (from the play-offs) together and there was a couple of good new signings in Mick Conroy and Steve Davis," said Deary, who played 54 games in league and cup in 91/92.

"We went to Russia as a bonding trip, it was a good bonding trip. But the food and water situation was a little bit horrendous.

"In fact there was no food. I had lost a stone when I got back home. We were there for about 10 days, but when it was first announced it was Russia everyone was dead excited.

"But Wigan had gone the year before and a few of the lads got to know it was a bit of a bad trip regarding food."

Deary attributes the Bear Grylls-esque trip behind the Iron Curtain to Burnley's relatively slow start, which featured four defeats in their first seven league games, leading to Frank Casper's resignation.

He was replaced by his assistant Mullen and things immediately began to click, with nine straight league wins, and another spell of five wins in seven after Christmas gave Deary the belief that promotion was on the cards.

"Everyone was disappointed when Frank left, most players if you were asked would have said it was Frank’s team, but it was a bit of a slow start," he said.

"Jimmy took over, he went a more direct route with the full-backs getting forward and it suited us to be honest. We had a great run.

"We got the first half of the season done. Come December we were confident we’d be up there, we thought we were going to have a charge at it.

"For me after Christmas, the six weeks after that, I thought we’d definitely get promotion, I thought we were the best team in the league and we proved it towards the end."

Deary arrived at Turf Moor ahead of the 1989/90 season, joining from Blackpool, and he takes pride in the fact he played a part in two promotions in three years as Burnley set the wheels in motion for their rise through the leagues.

It was that Division Four title 25 years ago that began that journey and Deary admits ending the club's spell in the bottom division was hugely important.

"Without a doubt," he said. "I didn’t know too much about (the club), I’d read about it, but when I went to sign it was Frank Casper and Mick Doherty and I thought ‘what a massive club this is’.

"But from the first start you could tell the team wasn’t good enough. All credit to the chairman and the board for getting the money available to bring in players.

"They were a great set of lads and we all believed we were going the same place.

"There’s stepping stones for everything. Ian Britton and Neil Grewcock scoring the goals against Orient and saving the club and then us moving up.

"I think the team totally changed after that, they got rid of a few players. I was fortunate to stay and I think two years later we got another promotion. I’m grateful for that."