'˜Burnley is toughest draw we could have got'

When Premier League leaders Chelsea, Manchester City and United, Arsenal and Spurs are still in the FA Cup, you might be surprised to hear Lincoln boss Danny Cowley declare Burnley as 'the toughest draw we could have got.'
Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley and Nicky Cowley shouts instructions to his team from the dug-out

Photographer Andrew Vaughan/CameraSport

Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round - Lincoln City v Brighton & Hove Albion - Saturday 28th January 2017 - since Bank - Lincoln
 
World Copyright © 2017 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comLincoln City manager Danny Cowley and Nicky Cowley shouts instructions to his team from the dug-out

Photographer Andrew Vaughan/CameraSport

Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round - Lincoln City v Brighton & Hove Albion - Saturday 28th January 2017 - since Bank - Lincoln
 
World Copyright © 2017 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley and Nicky Cowley shouts instructions to his team from the dug-out Photographer Andrew Vaughan/CameraSport Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round - Lincoln City v Brighton & Hove Albion - Saturday 28th January 2017 - since Bank - Lincoln World Copyright © 2017 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

But Cowley is a big admirer of Clarets boss Sean Dyche and his side’s team ethic and mentality, and feels they will be better prepared to contend with what the Red Imps have to throw at them at Turf Moor tomorrow.

Cowley saw the Clarets hold Chelsea on Sunday, and said: “I think this is the toughest draw we could have got, I genuinely mean that.

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“They are very well-equipped to be able to cope with teams like ourselves.

“People might think that is crazy when you consider we could have drawn Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea.

“But I’m not sure those teams are as well equipped to deal with us and our style.

Burnley are team orientated and seem to have a lot of honest, hard-working professionals.

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“A lot of them have got to the Premier League the hard way, and when you do that it builds a resolve and makes you value what you’ve got.”

And he feels Dyche should receive more praise than he gets for the job he has done at Burnley: “We have huge admiration for what they’ve done and for Sean Dyche and his staff. If he was a foreign manager he would be getting a lot more plaudits than he currently is.

“He’s the type of manager you’d want to play for.”

Lincoln have nothing to lose, and Cowley added: “If we’re realistic, we’d beat them once in a 100 times – that’s the truth. But we have to go into the game believing this is our opportunity because without belief we have nothing,” declared Cowley.

“When we have these huge challenges in front of us, we normally break them down into quarters.

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“But for Saturday we’re breaking it down into sixths, 15-minute parts. We’re going to play the first 15 minutes like our life depends on it and see if we can get through it with the scores still being equal. If we can, then it gets slightly easier, one per cent easier.

“When you look at Burnley there are no chinks, mentally or physically. They’re outstanding in both of those areas. It’s a huge challenge but it’s one we’re going to enjoy.

“We’re going to make sure we give the very best version of ourselves and try to match the commitment of our supporters who have been queuing up all night to get tickets.

“We’re going to be brave, we’re going to fight and give it one hell of a go. If we do all of those things, we might give ourselves that chance.

“We’ve achieved the impossible to get here, we’ve just got to go and do it again.”