OWEN Coyle couldn’t think of a better time for Burnley to make their top flight return.

It will be 50 years in May since the Clarets were crowned champions of England.

Now, as his team prepares to make its Premier League bow, indulging in the nostalgia with a retro kit and club crest to mark the milestone, Coyle is ready to write a new chapter in the proud history he has embraced since arriving 20 months ago.

But just 12 months ago, it was hard to imagine such a special scenario.

Four games into last season, Burnley had amassed a paltry two points from a possible 12.

Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich inflicted heavy defeats as August ended without a league win.

But a positive vibe in the dressing room assured Coyle there was no cause for panic, and once Nottingham Forest were defeated, there was no looking back.

“The team spirit shone through when we had an indifferent start,” he said.

”It is easy when you are winning games but also important when things are not going great. We want to foster it and make sure it grows. We are singing from the same hymn sheet.”

Such unity will take on even greater significance this season.

Canny Coyle masterminded five Premier League scalps in the cups last term, guiding the Clarets to the Carling Cup semi-final, where they were gallant in defeat to Spurs after turning a 4-1 deficit on its head to force extra time at Turf Moor.

On a level playing field, the Scot is realistic, but far from fazed.

“We play four of the top five from last season in the opening five games, but that’s the way we want it,” he said.

“You want to be a part of the best league in the world and we’ve earned that right. What we have to do now is show our qualities and try to do that on a game-to-game basis, and if we do that it will serve us well.

“We’re under no illusions how difficult the task will be, but we’re looking forward to it.

“There’s no doubt finance plays a big part, and we were in the bottom four of the Championship last season, never mind the Premier League. We would all love the finance available to us that Manchester City have and some of the other big hitters, but we get on with it and make a fist of what we’ve got.

“I’ve been well used to that in my upbringing in Scottish football anyway, having to be dealing with tight budgets.

"But we will still look to put a team on the park that’s entertaining and can win football matches, and that’s what we will try to do.”

He added: “We’re not one of the big, glamour clubs, but we are a club with tremendous history and tradition.

"It’s 50 years this year when Burnley were the champions of England, when it was very much a level playing field and everybody earned the same money.

"That’s obviously not the case now, as we all know, but we are in there and we have to do our utmost to retain that status.