DARE to dream was the motto for Burnley’s unforgettable promotion campaign.

Two years on, and Michael Duff is still dreaming.

The defender, who with 42 appearances from 61 that season played an important role in the road to Wembley, has not yet given up on the top six finish this time around.

The Clarets’ chances have faded fast since three wins on the spin have been countered by one point from a possible 18.

But Duff and co are refusing to surrender without a fight.

Although Tuesday night’s defeat at Nottingham Forest, where the Clarets played with 10 men for an hour, was their fifth in six games and their fourth in a row, the long-serving stopper was at least encouraged by an improvement on Saturday’s poor show at Leicester.

He accepts that, following other disappointing performance at home to Millwall, Coventry and Ipswich, as well as last month’s trip to Bristol City, they will only have themselves to blame if their mission set out at the start of the season is unaccomplished.

But he is adamant they will give it their all in the six games to go, beginning with tomorrow’s visit of high-flying Swansea City.

“I think it was important that we did have a response because in all honesty we got played off the park by Leicester,” said Duff, who is nursing a suspected broken nose from Tuesday’s battle at the City Ground.

“The sending off on Tuesday night killed us really because I think we absolutely dominated the game before that with 11 men.

“Even for the rest of the first half I think we had most of the ball and in the end they’ve scored a lucky goal. It’s ricocheted off four or five players and dropped five yards out.

“The second goal doesn’t really matter because it’s the 94th minute and we’re trying to score a goal so it makes no odds whether it’s 1-0 or 2-0 really.

“The performance and the attitude of the players was a lot better I think.

“At this stage of the season it’s more important to pick up results than performances but we haven’t really done either in the last few weeks.

“We’re back at home and we’re still in with a chance, but unfortunately it’s not up to us – it’s not in our hands any more – but we’ve just got to try to win as many games as we can and see where it takes us now.”

But while the Clarets still hope to live up the high expectations that came with a season in the Premier League, Duff believes it is equally important to reflect on how far the club has come, even in the seven years that he has been at Turf Moor.

Steve Cotterill, Duff’s former Cheltenham and Burnley boss, had only eight players on the books when he replaced Stan Ternent in the summer of 2004.

“It’s chalk and cheese really compared to when I first came up.

“The only aim was to stay in the league,” said the 33-year-old, who worked his way up to the top of English football’s ladder from non-league.

“I think sometimes it’s important to have a reality check.

“Just because we came down from the Premier League doesn’t mean we’ve got a God-given right to go straight back up because you look at the teams that came down and some of them have struggled as well.

“It’s a tough league and there are some big clubs with big budgets and big players in it. Obviously we’re not accepting that we havne’t got a chance of getting in the play-offs but it’s come a long way.”

Duff, however, still has big ambitions.

“It was always an aim to play in the Premier League, my aim now’s to get back in,” said the Northern Ireland international.

“The day you stop dreaming you might as well give up.

“I think you’ve always got to have ambition. Graham Alexander would be a prime example of that.

“You ask him what he wants to do and he’s not saying ‘I just want to get to 1,000 games’. He’s talking about playing and achieving things.

“You don’t play to his age and do the things he’s done by living in the past.

“It’s about looking forward and that’s all I’m concentrating on.”