Burnley issued 'different threat' warning ahead of major Watford test

Burnley face a potentially pivotal Easter weekend as they look to move a step closer towards an immediate return to the Premier League.

Following a hard-earned win against a Norwich City side sat on the fringes of the Championship play-off battle, Scott Parker’s men briefly returned to the top of the table - although they ended the weekend in second place after Leeds United earned a 2-1 home win against Preston North End on Saturday afternoon.

The battle for automatic promotion is now a three-horse race between Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United as the season approaches its conclusion and several key clashes lie in wait for all three clubs. However, Clarets star Josh Cullen has warned his team-mates they can’t afford to look beyond Friday night’s visit to Watford.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire: “It’s another win on the board for us but it’s only another three points, it just counts towards the total. It was another tough game. We had to show all sides of our game, all of our qualities, but it was a big win in the end. We know what’s at stake when you come to the end of the season. When it gets closer to the end, the goal you want is waiting there for you and obviously it’s in our hands to go and grab.

“As players, we just have to take it game by game. It’s a bit boring coming out and saying that, I’m sure people want to hear we’re getting carried away but honestly we’re not. It stays game by game, every team poses us a different threat. We know we’ve got four tough games left. This is a big win for us but we rest up and prepare for Watford next week, where we will go again.”

Friday’s visit to Vicarage Road will see Parker and his players take the next step in what is one of the most hectic periods of the Championship season. Following last Friday’s home win against Norwich, the Clarets squad have enjoyed the luxury of a free midweek to prepare for a busy Bank Holiday weekend that starts with the trip to Watford and ends with a monumental home clash with promotion rivals Sheffield United on Monday. Those fixtures are followed by a final away day of the season at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday week before the regular campaign comes to a close with a home clash with Millwall on the first weekend of May.

With a long and challenging season now in its final stages, Cullen hailed the professionalism shown by the Clarets squad as they look to ensure their stay in the Championship is limited to just a single season.

“It can be quite relentless”

“We know how the schedule can be in the Championship, it can be quite relentless,” he explained.

“Off the back of two away games on Saturday and Tuesday night, coming back home with the first game of the weekend on the Friday night, it was quite a tough schedule. But we’re a professional group, we recovered well and I think we showed that with how well we started the game, because we played with a lot of energy. Big shoutout to the crowd as well, because they drove us on. The atmosphere was brilliant.”

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