CAPTAIN Steven Caldwell is desperate to end 30 years of hurt and lead Burnley to derby glory on Sunday.

The Ewood Park encounter will be only the seventh since Tony Morley and Brian Hall scored in the 1979 2-1 win at Ewood Park. But defender Caldwell is determined to finally claim the upper hand, and in doing so end Burnley’s barren away run in the Premier League on enemy territory.

The Scot is well versed in local rivalries, having played in the Tyne and Wear dual for both Newcastle AND Sunderland; former Manchester City defender Stephen Jordan once proved a match for Cristiano Ronaldo in the Manchester derby, while team-mates Brian Jensen and Michael Duff both played in the 2005 FA Cup clashes at Turf Moor and Ewood.

Caldwell knows all their experience will need to come to the fore this weekend, and has called for a team of ‘heroes’.

“You want to be the hero, like you always do. You always want to be the hero in the game.

"But at the end of the day we’re such a close-knit team we don’t really care who the hero is as long as we win,” he said.

“It’s going to be difficult; they’re a very good side. They’ve been in the league a long time, they’ve got a brilliant manager who’s pretty much got them on song every game - up for it and ready for battles especially. We know what to expect from them.

“It’s going to be a fast and furious game I’m sure, so we need to be ready for what’s going to come, weather the storm early and then hopefully show our quality on the ball and attack, which we haven’t really done as well as we can this season away from home.

“We need to try to do that better, and obviously defend better as a team, We’ve been tremendous at that at home, and not so good away from home.

“But we just need to be ready and up for the fight and the challenge of the derby match and hopefully we can show our bits of quality and score a goal or two.”

The build-up to Sunday’s televised clash is reaching fever pitch.

Caldwell admitted he expects nothing less off the field, but stressed the need for players to keep their emotions in check on it.

“The thing about derbies is that they’re most important to your area, where you’re playing football or where you’re born or where you live,” he said.

“Sunderland-Newcastle was always the biggest derby in the world to me, and this - now - is the biggest derby in the world to me, because it’s the most important to me.

“If Sunderland play Newcastle in two months’ time in the cup I’ll watch it but I don’t really care what happens, whereas this is crucial to me, and everybody else involved in this area.

“You just get caught up in it - the whole build-up to derby matches. It’s very difficult to stay out of it.

“You get caught up in the whole euphoria and excitement to the game; it adds that little bit of tension and makes people do things they don’t normally do - bad and good.

“But it’s important that, as a team, and as captain, I try to keep the lads calm.

“You want to be keyed up for the derby, but you can get over-keyed and get too excited before the game and go out there with a rash tackle, or a rash decision and it costs the team.

“We have to just stay calm, although realise it’s a very big game to a lot of people, including us.

“It’s the happy medium that you need, and we’ve been pretty good at that in a lot of the big games we’ve played in the past 18 months. We need that again next Sunday.”

But the 29-year-old admitted it could be easier said than done.

“You can’t sleep the night before; you’re just too excited,” he said. “It’s very hard because there’s such a fine line between being keyed up for it and TOO keyed up.

“You have to just try to hit it right come 1 o’clock. We have to peak at the right time.

He added: “I was lucky enough to play at Newcastle at the Stadium of Light and St James’s, and Sunderland at the Stadium and at St James’s, so I really experienced all sides of that game.

“It was phenomenal. I loved it! They were great games, and obviously both teams were close to my heart because I consider the north east almost like my home because I lived on both sides of the water.

“It was an amazing match to be involved in. I’m sure this will be every bit as good, if not better.

“We’ve got guys that have played in big derbies before; guys who have played in this derby before who will be helping us with their experience and making sure we do everything like we always do it, having the same laughs and the same carry-on, we keep calm and then come 1 o’clock we’re out of the blocks and ready to take the game to the game to them.”