EIGHTEEN years ago on Monday it was another tense, dramatic and ultimately successful afternoon at Turf Moor as Burnley beat Plymouth 2-1 to secure survival in the third tier of English football.

The Clarets had spent most of that campaign in the relegation zone and had never been above 19th while crowds hovered around the 9,000-10,000 mark.

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It was the same year that Michael Duff was in his first season in the Conference with Cheltenham, so the length of a remarkable professional career.

How quickly things can change in this game. This is a very different Burnley to the one that had to fight to avoid dropping into the bottom division in 1998.

Next season they will be in the Premier League for the third time in seven seasons, and it’s probably their best chance yet to establish themselves back at the top table.

The achievement of winning an immediate return to the top flight cannot, and should not, be played down.

The Clarets were fifth on Boxing Day. They’d won once in eight games. They didn’t look like a team heading for promotion. What has followed since then, which could culminate in an entire half season unbeaten, has been jaw-dropping.

Charlton, Bristol City, MK Dons, Brentford, Derby, Nottingham Forest and Fulham, to name just a few, can attest to Burnley’s attacking prowess this season.

But all of the top six can dazzle. No team has a better forward line, on paper, than Middlesbrough. But this league isn’t won or lost on paper.

It’s decided on days when you’re not quite at it. When everyone is on a good day, Burnley are the best team in the division. When every side is on an off day, Burnley are the best team in the division by miles.

In a social media age of instant gratification it’s Vines of a Lionel Messi dribble, a Neymar flick or a Luis Suarez goal that thrill. But points are earned over 90 minutes and prizes over 46 games.

Seeing the Clarets at their resilient, bloody minded best is a joy to behold, just as it is to watch the team moves that led to Scott Arfield’s stunning strike at Brentford.

There have been plenty of games this season where Burnley have struggled to assert their authority, as is to be expected of a relentless Championship season.

But where others have folded the Clarets have won when they should have drawn and drawn when they should have lost.

The never-say-die mentality was never more evident than in those heart-stopping, heaven-sent equalisers from Michael Keane against Brighton and Middlesbrough.

Two goals, in added time, that have changed the course of this promotion race.

Burnley are back. They could be there to stay.