BURNLEY are back among the big boys. After a four-year absence, the club avoided the 2009 play-off lottery when automatic promotion to the Premier League was confirmed yesterday.

Celebrations which started at Turf Moor on and off the pitch continued on to the streets and into pubs and homes late into the night.

It is fantastic news not only for the club, which will surely benefit by more than £100million, but also for the town as a whole.

Burnley has already been crowned the most enterprising area in the UK and hopefully, businesses can capitalise on being back on the Premier League map and the exposure that brings for the town.

Television cameras will become a familiar sight once again, and thousands more people will be visiting the town and contributing to the economy.

Success for the club certainly means success for the borough and now is the time for town leaders to get their thinking caps on, make the most of the summer break and plan how everyone can share in the success.

The rest of us can sit back, let it all sink in and then count down to 9am on June 18 when Burnley find out who they face for the much-awaited season opener on August 16.