As preparations for the biggest game of the season go, exiting the FA Cup at the hands of a struggling Championship side falls some way short of ideal.

No-one has the divine right to win any game. But with only one win and nine goals at the Madejski this season, 22nd-placed Reading represented a decent opportunity for the Clarets to progress to the next round.

More importantly, an away win would have boosted morale and given the players some much needed confidence heading into tonight’s game at the Reebok.

And what a game it promises to be. Burnley have played a number of big games in the last eighteen months. Yet in terms of what is at stake, this ranks alongside the biggest.

On the face of it, Bolton start as favourites. With one point from a possible 33, 34 goals conceded and only eight scored, the Clarets have the most wretched away form in the Premier League.

Not only that, but Owen Coyle has the huge advantage of knowing Burnley’s players inside out, putting him in the best possible position to exploit any weaknesses in the squad he assembled.

And yet … Bolton Wanderers are not second bottom of the league by accident. The Reebok’s perpetually under-populated stands and their belly-aching supporters have witnessed just two league wins from a possible 11.

And a team-sheet bearing names such as Knight, Steinsson, McCann and Elmander should not cause mass consternation in the ranks.

Nor should it be forgotten that Coyle has yet to transform his squad of industrial cloggers into a team capable of playing a sophisticated passing game.

As for Brian Laws, he will never have an easier team-talk – that’s if he needs to make one at all.

Burnley’s players should not require any motivation. In walking out on them, Coyle was effectively making a statement that he didn’t think they were up to the challenge of retaining Premier League status. It’s up to them to prove him wrong.

No single game defines a season, yet one cannot help but think that psychologically as much as anything, the result of tonight’s encounter will mean a great deal.

Should the Clarets record their first away win, it would be the kind of result that could prove a catalyst for the remainder of the season.

Lose, however, and the damage it might do in terms of the rest of the season does not bear thinking about.