BURNLEY-born defender Alex Coleman has insisted the prospect of an East Lancashire derby was the driving force behind their quarter final success.

The young Clarets went into their FA Youth Cup quarter final at Fulham knowing the prize awaiting the winner would be a two-legged semi-final with Blackburn Rovers.

It is the first time in 33 years that Burnley have gone this far in the competition.

But the night takes on even greater significance for Coleman – a Burnley fan.

“This is as big as it gets!” said Coleman, ahead of tomorrow’s first leg at Ewood Park (kick-off 7pm).

The former Haslingden High School pupil and Haslingden cricketer was a supporter at Turf Moor before he became a scholar almost two years ago.

He has worked hard to try to explain the rivalry between Burnley and Blackburn to unassuming team-mates – particularly Aryn Williams, who hails from Australia, and New Zealander Cameron Howieson.

“We’ve made it abundantly clear how rare it is to play Blackburn and just how much it means,” said Coleman.

“Everybody knows what a massive game it is for everyone at the club.

“The anticipation of playing Blackburn Rovers I think that certainly spurred us on through the Fulham game.

“We knew our jobs, we knew what we had to beat Fulham.

“I don’t think there were many people who thought we could do it, apart from ourselves.

“We didn’t have so much pressure on us, apart from the pressure we put on ourselves.

“The main drive was the fact that if we pull together we can do something. To play Blackburn, that was the real drive behind it.

“At the final whistle I think it showed with all the celebrations. The lads were absolutely buzzing.

“And to make it to the semi-finals as well is such an achievement for all of us. It is all the lads have been talking about for the last two weeks.

“We can’t wait to get out there, put on that shirt and give it all we’ve got.

“We’re really proud of what we’ve done and we just can’t wait to get out there on Thursday and play.”

The young Clarets have no expectations beyond this round of the competition. It’s a dream to get this far, having already beaten three academy teams along the way.

Coleman just hopes they make the most of the occasion, and do themselves justice.

“The main thing is we want to try to make our way in this game. If you look at the stats a lot of us aren’t going to play on Premier League grounds and there aren’t many people that do, so we’ve got to try to enjoy it as much as we can and realise just what an achievement it is, and just go out there and enjoy ourselves.”