Maths mean little as boss calls for a strong Burnley finish

Mathematicians would not deem their challenge over yet.

But for Eddie Howe it is all about taking each game as it comes.

Even if they win all seven of their remaining games – starting with tonight’s game in hand at home to Birmingham City – they could still be so close, but so far away.

“We haven’t put it together for consistent enough spells this season,” said the Burnley boss.

“I think it’s a symptom of the league. I think a lot of sides have been as inconsistent as we have but they’ve ground out results probably better than we have.

“We’ve shown a little bit of inexperience at times in certain games, we’ve lost a lot of leads, we’ve conceded a few late goals. If we hadn’t done that you can just count the points up – we’d be well up there.

“The frustrating thing is two or three more results would have made a difference.

“I suppose every team will say the same but I think we have a special case with the leads we’ve lost, the late goals we’ve conceded. It could have been so different.”

Draws from winning positions at home to Cardiff, Southampton, Crystal Palace and, most recently, West Ham spring to mind, not to mention throwing away a 2-0 lead at Watford to lose 3-2, while Leeds have twice come from behind to beat the Clarets this season.

But ‘what ifs’ are no good to a Burnley team hell-bent on climbing the table - however high - before bowing out of the 2011/12 season.

Howe is especially keen to give the home fans a boost, after being more inconsistent at Turf Moor than anywhere this term.

“There are certain home games where we have performed. The Nottingham Forest game stands out and a couple of others, like Blackpool, where we performed really well. But I think in the main on a consistent basis we haven’t quite done it,” he said.

“We’ve been frustrating at home when we’ve drawn games we shouldn’t have done and perhaps lost games we shouldn’t have done.

“Our away form at times has been very good, although we’ve been slightly inconsistent on the road. I think we could have picked up even more points.

“We have counter-attacked on teams quite well and caused them problems playing that way.

“The challenge is to try to put it all together, which is difficult. I don’t think we’ve done that many times for 90 minutes. Even Saturday was an example of that.

“It was probably two 45s, and we need to try to match (the second half) for 90 minutes.”

Howe added: “We want to leave a good taste in the mouth, if that’s a right way to put it, because they have been patient with us, they have been very supportive. At times we’ve been frustrated with ourselves, let alone what the fans must think.

“There is a big desire within our camp to finish the season on a high so we can go into next season in confident mood.”

But with plenty of work to do to come close in on the top six again, the play-offs has not crept back into their vocabulary.

A win tonight would only take them up to 12th in the congested Championship.

“To finish as high as we can in the top half of the table would be our aim now,” said the Clarets chief.

“The games we’ve got between now and the end of the season are very interesting ones. I don’t think there’s a dead game when you look at it.

“They all have a big bearing on the top and the bottom of the league, so from our point of view that’s a good thing. Every game will have something on it.”

For Chris Hughton’s Birmingham City, it is all about pushing for a place in the Premier League.

Beating Burnley would mean breathing space between them and fifth-placed Blackpool and sixth-placed Brighton, who the Clarets host on Good Friday.

“They’re an experienced side. You look at the ages of the squad and the experience that squad has got,” said Howe of the Blues.

“They are well drilled, they know their roles, they’ve got a bit of pace out wide and are a threat from wide positions.

“With Nikola Zigic up front and Marlon King – you can reel the names off. They’ve played in the Premier League and been there and done it, so from that point of view it will be an experienced side against a more youthful team.

“We’re going to have to be wary of their threats, but hopefully they’ll be wary of ours.

“I think it’s very much game by game. We’re very much at the stage where we’ve got to win every game – and we will try to do that.”

Of their own play-off potential, albeit distant, Howe added: “I think it’s very much game by game. We’re very much at the stage where we’ve got to win every game – and we will try to do that.”