BURNLEY and Padiham were once rivals, battling it out in the same division with the Storks coming out on top more often than not.

That was until football turned professional.

Padiham, formed in 1878, got left behind as more money was ploughed into the bigger, town club next door, despite the Storks having a four-year head start . These days, they are poles apart in football’s pyramid.

But in some senses, their fortunes are similar this season, with both teams competing at a higher level against teams boasting greater financial clout.

Burnley in the Premier League is Padiham’s equivalent in the Evo-Stik First Division North.

“The two clubs mirror one another, albeit at different levels,” said long-serving club stalwart Alan Smith.

“They are both striving to achieve the best they can but there are limitations with regard to finance and support base because of where we are in the country - in a football hotbed - and the economic climate. We can’t match some of the other teams in our league.”

Padiham survived last season, after going up as North West Counties League champions in 2013.

Now sitting bottom of the pile, with just nine points from 21 league games, club secretary Smith fears they are suffering from a classic case of second season syndrome.

But after almost 25 years with the club he knows they have been through worse.

“When I joined the club in 1990 they were £26,500 in debt, which is a lot of money anyway, but certainly in those days,” he said.

“Anyone with a right mind would have jumped ship, which is what happened.

“They had been thrown out of the North West Counties League and into the West Lancs Second Division because the ground wasn’t up to scratch. We had an old second hand farm building that was full of rot.

“So the challenge was to keep the club going and make future plans.”

Smith spent the next five years compiling all the documentation for a successful Lottery grant bid to help the Storks climb back up the ladder.

After he gave up work in sales and marketing more than 10 years ago, the day-to-day running of Padiham Football Club became his full-time job, albeit unpaid.

Promotion to the Northern Premier League was not planned, much like Burnley to the top-flight first time around.

“For us it was like that season Burnley had under Owen Coyle,” said Smith, 59.

Like Burnley, Padiham had to spend a big chunk of their budget on ground improvements to make the grade, with £50,000 shelled out the following summer, and around £40,000 12 months later to make the step up from ground grading E to D standard.

Smith, who for the last quarter of a century has been combining two of his big passions - football and his hometown - takes on the time consuming tasks of applying for the necessary grants, which over the last two decades have gone well into double figures and total around £500,000.

Attending meetings, tending to the ground, the club’s accounts - it is a labour of love for Smith, seven days a week.

“I do think I could be doing other things with my life,” he said. “But why would I?”