BULLISH Burnley captain Steven Caldwell believes late momentum could still push them beyond the play-offs.

The Clarets moved into fifth place in the Championship after securing three consecutive wins for the first time this season with Saturday's 5-0 rout over Nottingham Forest.

It was their biggest win since November 1999, when Wrexham were thrashed by the same scoreline at Turf Moor, and Burnley went on to win automatic promotion to the Championship at the end of that campaign.

And, although Caldwell accepts it is a tough ask, he insists a similar outcome in their quest for the Premier League this year cannot be ruled out.

“I certainly believe we can (get automatic promotion) and I've believed it for quite a long time," said the skipper.

"It's obviously going to be extremely difficult and we're going to have to go on a pretty special run of wins, but I know that we're capable of it and I know what momentum's like in this league.

"When you get it, it's so difficult to lose a game. You keep winning and rolling on the crest of a wave. I certainly think we can achieve it, and we'll be doing our utmost to do it.

"But we're well aware that there are some excellent teams below us and above us."

Ipswich are one such side, as they lie six points off sixth place after their weekend win at Reading.

Burnley travel to Portman Road tomorrow night for the first of three away games on the trot, with Plymouth and Derby to follow.

And Caldwell feels the Clarets will have a better idea of what is at stake at the end of that run.

"After three difficult away games in a row, it's probably going to tell us what we're going to be fighting for," he said.

"If you keep winning games you're going to be in the shake-up.

"But it's a very difficult task to win games in this league so we just have to take every game as it comes and do our utmost to get three points.

"We're a very confident set of players and I think that obviously stems from the manager, putting us out there and giving us that confidence to go and play and express ourselves.

"We always feel like we're going to win games, no matter who we're playing. We even went to the Emirates thinking we were going to win and take the game to them, and obviously they're a world class side.

"We'd be confident in the play-offs if we got there, but it's a lottery-type situation and every team's confident in the play-offs because they've done extremely well to get there."