Burnley skipper says miserable Preston North End defeat could be their Sheffield United moment

Vincent Kompany’s Clarets suffered a one-sided 5-2 defeat at Bramall Lane back in November 2022 during the 2022/23 campaign.

Despite the setback, it brought about a remarkable response from Kompany’s men as they won their next 10 games and embarked on a 22-match unbeaten run. They eventually won the league at a canter with a 101-point haul.

Brownhill is now hoping the weekend’s 3-0 defeat to their Lancashire rivals in the FA Cup could bring about a similar sort of resolve from Scott Parker’s side.

“It’s going to be huge,” Brownhill said when asked about the importance of showing character.

“It’s like a couple of years ago when we played Sheffield United away, because it was a bit of a shock for everybody. We came out fighting after that and went on a massive, massive run.

“Hopefully this is one of those days that provides a bit of a reality check, because we can’t perform like that ever again.

“It’s a good thing there’s a game [against Cardiff City] on Tuesday to put things right.”

While Burnley missed out on the opportunity to reach the quarter final of the FA Cup, they still have everything to play for.

Sitting third and five points adrift of the automatic promotion spots, albeit with a game in hand, Burnley have 12 games remaining to get themselves back into the Premier League

“There’s still so much to play for, so we can’t get too down about it,” Brownhill added.

“We take accountability for this game and we all know we weren’t at the races, but there’s a chance to put things right on Tuesday and continue our good form in the league.

“It can’t come quick enough to be honest, I wish it was on Sunday to put things right, but we’ll go again in training and hopefully on Tuesday we can make it right.”