BURNLEY might not have an FA Cup quarter-final to look forward to on the second weekend of March, but the consolation prize isn’t too bad.

There is no doubt the Clarets would rather be lining up in the last eight, but instead they will be at one of the Premier League’s most iconic stadiums, with a trip to Anfield now confirmed for Sunday, March 12 (4pm).

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“I can assure you we didn’t want to be going there that weekend, but what’s done is done,” said boss Sean Dyche after the defeat to Lincoln.

It’s a sign of the progress the club has made in recent years , and while it was nobody’s idea of the first place they wanted to be on that weekend when they woke on Saturday morning, it will still be another grand occasion for the club.

The last time Burnley lost an FA Cup fifth round tie, a 5-1 defeat at West Ham, they welcomed Millwall to Turf Moor on quarter-final weekend and were beaten 3-0 by the men from the Den in a Championship fixture. That was only six years ago.

Indeed it’s only 18 years since Burnley and Lincoln played each other as contemporaries in the old Division Two.

Plenty has changed since then and those statistics are a sign of the progress the Clarets have made in recent years.

If Dyche’s side can display their usual ability to quickly overcome setbacks than the next four weeks present them with the chance to make sure trips to Anfield, Old Trafford, and perhaps even Wembley if Tottenham, as expected, play their home league games there next year, are on the calendar next in 2017-18.

The FA Cup exit means it will be a run of four successive away league games for the Clarets, who won’t be back at Turf Moor now until April.

Burnley have done the hard work already this season. Nine home wins have helped them open up a 10-point cushion on the bottom three, and the next four games will play a pivotal role in deciding if they can enjoy spring with safety all but confirmed.

The run of away games begins with a trip to 18th placed Hull City on Saturday, and Dyche insists his side will be able to ‘park’ the defeat to the Imps very quickly.

“We know the bigger picture here, and the goal,” he said.

“This would have been the icing on the cake, to get involved in a cup run, but we know the bigger picture.”

If they can shake off any after effects from the cup shock then the Clarets have the perfect chance to improve on an away record of one point from 11 games.

The trip to Anfield may be a daunting one, but after Saturday’s visit to the KC Stadium Burnley travel to South Wales to face 15th placed Swansea and then the week after the game on Merseyside they travel north to face a Sunderland side who are currently propping up the Premier League table.

To describe it is a make or break run would be over the top.

Even if they don’t claim that first away win the Clarets will still be well placed, but a victory or two should help ensure Dyche’s side can enjoy the run-in without looking over their shoulders.