Burnley are in the hunt but skipper Pickup feels title race will be wide open
The table is incredibly tight after five games with defending champions Clitheroe currently positioned all the way down in ninth.
Discounting leaders Ramsbottom and second place Walsden, who have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the campaign, just seven points separate Lowerhouse in seventh and Accrington in third at this early stage.
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Hide AdWith Burnley tucked away in fifth on 42 points, Pickup said: “We’ve got a lot of tough tests to come. We need to put a bit of a run together to gain that confidence.
“It’s tight and you could genuinely make a case for six or seven teams winning the league. It’s wide open with teams only playing each other once.
“There are probably four or five other teams that fancy themselves to challenge up at the top as well.”
So far Burnley have won four of their league fixtures while progressing in the Worsley Cup and the Lancashire Knockout Cup.
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Hide AdAnd it’s been a collaborative effort. Burnley have worked in unison and succeeded as a collective. On Saturday, against Haslingden, no less than four players posted a half-century while Qasim Shah was a solitary run short.
“All our wins so far have come in a similar kind of performance,” said Pickup. “Nobody has won a game on their own yet. Everyone is chipping in and doing their bit.
“There have been some really good signs. Ideally you want to be ruthless with your openers sticking around and getting big scores but it’s good when you’ve got a team where everyone is capable of contributing.
“Everyone feels like they are playing a part.”
Burnley entertain Bacup in the second round of the Worsley Cup at the MyProtein Turf Moor tomorrow before hosting Rawtenstall on Bank Holiday Sunday.