JACK Cork says there is no pressure on Burnley to secure a seventh placed finish in the Premier League, but admits it has become a realistic target and is now “ours to throw away”.

The mission laid out at the start of the season by manager Sean Dyche was simply to stay up and improve on last year’s 40-point haul.

But Burnley have raised the bar this term, having occupied seventh spot for much of it.

And while Cork revealed they would not allow themselves to feel disappointed if they were to miss out come May, retaining their place as the best club outside of the ‘big six’ is a goal they have got in their sights. The Clarets sit three points clear of Leicester City with seven games to go.

“That has to be the next target,” said the midfielder.

“I think 40 was always the main target and now to be on 46 points with seven games to go and be in seventh place, it would be a shame if we didn’t try to push and try to do that.

“It would be a great achievement and there’s no reason why we can’t do it.”

Cork knows, though, there is no expectation on the Clarets, and hopes to be able to use a relaxed approach to their advantage.

“The main aim was to just avoid relegation and improve on last season,” the midfielder said.

“Maybe coming so close it would be (a disappointment not to finish seventh) but if you look realistically what we set out for at the start of the season we’ve already achieved a lot.

“It would be a shame (to miss out) though because it has been a really successful year and it’s been a good one.

“We’d love to try to finish seventh. It’s in our sights”

Burnley can take a step closer to securing it on Saturday when they face a trip to Watford - a former club of both Cork and Dyche.

The midfielder spent time on loan at Vicarage Road in the second half of the 2008/09 season.

It was there he first encountered Dyche, who was a youth coach at the time, when Brendan Rodgers was first team manager.

But Cork admitted he could see managerial potential in former defender Dyche.

“He was quite a big personality around the training ground and as soon as he got the nod to step in as manager there you could tell he was going to do really well,” said the 28-year-old of his Turf Moor chief.

“We talked about that when I first signed (for Burnley in the summer).

“It was a good set-up at the time.

“It’s always been a good club and a nice club, and they’ve done well over the last few years.

“It will be nice to go back there, but we’ll be looking to try to continue our push.”