ANDY Lochhead was the toast of Burnley during the Clarets' Inter-Cities Fairs Cup run 50 years ago as he banged in six goals in as many games.

Harry Potts' side stormed Europe with a run to the quarter-finals of the 1966/67 competition, but it was their easiest assignment against the Swiss side Lausanne that Lochhead will always remember, for professional and personal reasons.

Having vanquished German giants Stuttgart in the first round the Clarets made the Swiss roll in the second round as they battered their mediocre opponents 8-1 over two legs.

The tie began with a trip to Switzerland half a century ago last Wednesday and although the home side gave themselves little chance of victory they actually started well, taking a first half lead.

Their star man, wing-half Richie Durr, had said after watching the Clarets train the night before the game: "They look very fit and we think Burnley will be too good for us after reading how they beat Chelsea and Leicester City."

Despite their promising start Lochhead had his head in the clouds after getting the news that wife Carole had given birth to their first child back in Burnley on the afternoon of the game and he made the most of it by laying on goals for Ralph Coates and Gordon Harris with his head before powering a header into the back of the net for the Clarets' third goal.

He had also had a goal disallowed before Lausanne took the lead on 16 minutes, and after a fine performance he was toast of the team hotel after the game.

"I got a hat-trick in the home leg and I remember scoring in the away leg because my wife had given birth to my first daughter, it was the same day I scored the goal, so it’s a great memory of that time," Lochhead said.

"They all have private jets now but it was an old aeroplane we were on flying around Europe with the turbo engines, it wasn’t easy getting to Switzerland."

Before taking on Lausanne on their own patch Potts had promised his side - with Arthur Bellamy playing as a sweeper in a 1-4-1-4 system - would go on the attack, and they were as good as their word.

"Away goals are vital in this competition and we shall be out to get as many as we can," he said.

It was a performance to delight the first Burnley fan to arrive in Switzerland, 18-year-old Malcolm Moss, who according to Lancashire Telegraph reports at the time spent £19 10s on a train from London to Folkestone, a ferry to Calais and then a 12-hour train from the French town to Lausanne.

A week later the Swiss side were in Burnley for the return leg and Potts was taking no chances as he sought to make sure his side progressed to the third round.

Under the lights at Turf Moor the Clarets put on a five-star show, with Lochhead the main man once again.

He scored a hat-trick, with Brian O'Neil and Willie Irvine also on the scoresheet, to make sure of progress to the third round and an eventful tie with Napoli.

Burnley's journey eventually ended in the last eight, but the tournament holds happy memories for Lochhead.

"We thought we had a chance of winning it, we had some good results but unfortunately we got knocked out by Eintracht Frankfurt," he said. "But it was a great run and something the squad all enjoyed.

"To get a hat-trick in Europe and in that competition was terrific, I had a really good record in that competition that season, it seemed to suit me.

"It was one of the best experiences I’ve had in football.

"It was a great experience, the 60s were a great decade to play, the football was good and the coaches and managers we had then were great."