'We're up for the challenge': Mick McCarthy's Blackpool out to upset leaders Burnley

Vincent Kompany’s side boast a 19-point gap to third placed Middlesbrough having only lost twice all season.

McCarthy knows the odds are stacked in Burnley’s favour but he insists his players will give it everything they’ve got.

He said: “They’re unbeaten in the league since November and they’ve won most of those games, which isn’t too bad is it?

“We can beat them because it’s the Championship, it can happen. But they are a good side.

“I saw Neil Warnock said they’re the best (Championship team) he’s seen in 25 years and I watched their game (against Huddersfield) last week and they were rampant for 35 minutes. They were 3-0 up.

“It’s going to be a real tough ask, but that’s what we’ve got to do. We’re up for the challenge on Saturday.”

McCarthy was at Turf Moor on Wednesday night as Burnley edged past Fleetwood Town to reach the quarter-final of the FA Cup.

“They changed a few players, but they were still dominant,” the 64-year-old added.

“Fleetwood were brilliant in how they held out for 90 minutes. I was devastated when I heard they’d conceded because I had left by that point.

“They were stoic, they were determined, they were belligerent, all the things we’re going to have to be because they are the top team, they’re playing with confidence and we’re second bottom and confidence is not at its highest.”

While Blackpool will go out and try and win the game, McCarthy concedes this fixture will not determine their season.

“I agree with Warnock, playing Burnley is not the one that is going to determine your season,” he said.

“But we want a performance, we want to play well and whatever happens with the result – we want to try and win it – we want our fans to go away and think we’ve had a right go.

“If we get that we can take it into the next 11 games, whatever the result might be. Win, lose or draw, we can take that into the final few games.

“Then there will be games within that, which there are, that will be far more winnable.”