Stoke City 1 Burnley 4 - Pete Oliver's big match verdict

SO WHAT was all the fuss about?

Like a cat toying with a mouse, Burnley took their supporters to the brink of despair before embarking on a surge to safety that peaked in glorious style at the Britannia Stadium.

There have been some wobbles along the way - noticeably against Colchester and Macclesfield - in an unbeaten run that now stretches to eight games.

And Saturday's decisive win was not achieved without a certain amount of anxiety.

But the bottom line is that when the going has got tough, Burnley have got going.

They are not quite there yet.

But it's looking almost certain that the Clarets will be bidding to sustain a promotion challenge from the Second Division - not Division Three next season.

Five points clear of the relegation zone with three games to play and in their highest position since January, Burnley have rarely looked so good this season.

Their away form has been nothing short of phenomenal since Christmas, with just one defeat in 10 games.

And once their current status has been mathematically guaranteed, the Clarets can look forward to better times ahead. The exact personnel charged with banishing the memories of a grim relegation battle will not be unveiled until the summer.

But Stan Ternent now has a sound base to work from and it would be a shame if most of the current crop of players aren't still at Turf Moor next season.

Three players who have played a key part in Burnley's revival and whose futures are still to be resolved are Ally Pickering, Tom Cowan and Paul Cook.

And Pickering revealed extra depths to an already impressive game when he set Burnley on their way to victory against his former club.

Scoring goals has not been a feature of the right-back's game in a League career that had produced just three in over 250 matches.

His fourth and second in five seasons was worth the wait, however.

Five minutes into his return to the Britannia Stadium, Pickering unleashed a volley from 35 yards which screamed into the top right-hand corner of Carl Muggleton's net.

It was a special moment for the player and the perfect start for the Clarets, who doubled their lead within six minutes in more remarkable circumstances.

Andy Payton looked ready to come off with a recurrence of a thigh strain but hung around long enough to display his hunger for goals.

An interception by Tom Cowan caught Stoke cold and sensing a first and last major contribution, Payton darted into the box, accepted Cowan's pass and slipped the ball past a bemused Muggleton. With his 20th League goal of the season duly recorded, Payton was replaced by Graham Branch with a job well done.

He couldn't quite sit back and relax as Stoke threatened to draw level after being handed a route back into the game courtesy of a mistake by referee David Crick before half-time.

But Glen Little's second half double as Payton's stand-in took the Clarets to within touching distance of safety.

After their early twin salvo, Burnley played as though they owned the place. Stoke, whose free fall away from the promotion places continued with this sixth home defeat in eight games, were hopelessly outplayed by Little and Cook.

Stoke did finally get themselves going through Kevin Keen and Graham Kavanagh but after Peter Thorne had headed over when well placed they needed a helping hand to change the course of the game.

The referee called it wrong when he penalised and booked Cowan for a foul on the marauding Keen, who had wriggled free from the Burnley wing-back but was then legitimately relieved of the ball by a sliding tackle.

And once the free-kick had been given it seemed almost certain to end up in the back of the net, even though it took a couple of deflections and a close-range header from Dean Crowe to force the ball over the line.

As ever the goal changed the game as Stoke kept pouring forward and Burnley found it hard to stem the tide or hold onto the ball for any length of time.

It took a fine block by Phil Robinson to deny Little but generally the force was with the home side and only a fine save from Paul Crichton denied Kavanagh a leveller. The half-time break did little to check Stoke's stride but some wasteful finishing and committed defending in front of their own goal kept Burnley's noses in front, Kavanagh going closest again for the home side when Crichton squeezed his 20-yarder onto the post.

But with Lenny Johnrose on to stiffen up the midfield and Little pushed up front, the Clarets were dangerous on the break.

And Little's persistence mid-way through the half earned him the crucial third goal which Muggleton had denied him 15 minutes earlier with a smart save.

Robbing the dithering Laarus Sigurdsson on the touch-line, Little set off on one of his famous loping runs against an exposed City defence.

Plan A failed when his attempted pass to Andy Cooke was blocked but the loose ball fell kindly for Little to keep his nerve and make it 3-1.

Crowe then missed a sitter for Stoke as the mood of the home fans turned nasty and Burnley turned the screw on the counter-attack.

Sigurdsson presented Cooke with a chance which he failed to take when clean through and Micky Mellon shot over as Stoke were carved open again.

But Little wasn't about to spurn another opportunity to get on the scoresheet and from Johnrose's flick on he coolly jinked through to score and give further credence to the chorus of "Burnley's staying up" from behind the goal he located in the final minute.

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