Dan Black's verdict: Guard of honour against Rovers at Ewood Park, anyone?

Rangers refused to give Celtic one. Celtic vetoed a request from Rangers. Real Madrid declined to acknowledge Barcelona's success.
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So will Blackburn Rovers follow suit if Burnley have the title wrapped up ahead of the East Lancashire derby next week?

The conversation surrounding a potential guard of honour at Ewood Park has been tip-toed around for some time.

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But given the Clarets could now visit their neighbours as champions the discussion needs to carry some credence.

Burnley's Scott Twine celebrates scoring the opening goal 

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - RotherhamBurnley's Scott Twine celebrates scoring the opening goal 

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - Rotherham
Burnley's Scott Twine celebrates scoring the opening goal The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - Rotherham

Though it's more of a ritual than a compulsory requirement - and those with an intangible distain for their foes continue to capitalise on that loophole - many clubs in the past have simply sucked it up and tipped their hat to their rivals.

Manchester City gave Liverpool the recognition they deserved, despite having been dethroned by the Reds, at the Etihad Stadium in 2020.

Though Los Blancos didn't return the favour further down the line, Barca actually welcomed their foes with an ovation in 2008 at the Bernabeu.

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Arsenal gave former striker Robin van Persie a guard of honour when he returned with Manchester United in 2013 while Brendan Rodgers' side, captained by Steven Gerrard, stuck with tradition when Chelsea clinched the title in 2015.

Burnley's Lyle Foster tries to take advantage of a spill from Rotherham United's Josh Vickers

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - RotherhamBurnley's Lyle Foster tries to take advantage of a spill from Rotherham United's Josh Vickers

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - Rotherham
Burnley's Lyle Foster tries to take advantage of a spill from Rotherham United's Josh Vickers The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - Rotherham

Gerrard wasn't quite so forthcoming when in charge at Ibrox, categorically refusing the Hoops a guard of honour ahead of the Old Firm Derby in 2019 before Celtic retaliated two years later.

Burnley, of course, still have to take care of their side of the bargain, with victory over QPR at Turf Moor on Saturday enough to reclaim the crown they'd picked up with Sean Dyche in 2016.

It's all conjecture, for now, but balancing Burnley's home record (24 unbeaten in all competitions) against their opponents' recent run of results (one win in 19 games), then you'd have to back the league leaders to take care of business in Sheffield United's absence.

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QPR were the visitors seven years ago when Sam Vokes's header confirmed promotion to the Premier League on the penultimate game of term, before they consolidated top spot against Charlton Athletic at The Valley, and celebrated with an inflatable trophy.

Burnley's Manuel Benson celebrates scoring his side's second goal 

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - RotherhamBurnley's Manuel Benson celebrates scoring his side's second goal 

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - Rotherham
Burnley's Manuel Benson celebrates scoring his side's second goal The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Rotherham United v Burnley - Tuesday 18th April 2023 - New York Stadium - Rotherham

The champagne, however, is still on ice after the table toppers earned back-to-back draws on the road, against Reading in the first instance, and then versus Rotherham United on Tuesday night.

They're now one short of equalling Dyche's "23 undefeated", a milestone that could be eclipsed against Rovers, and they're 10 points clear at the top with just 12 left to play for.

Burnley have lost just twice all season, a record only matched by the Royals in their record-breaking 2005-06 campaign, and it was the first time since defeat at Bramall Lane that Vincent Kompany's side had conceded twice.

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"It's a team with an incredible amount of mental resilience and stamina to do it over an entire season," the 37-year-old reflected. "Usually the games we haven't won have been like the one today. When we have to find a way, they find a way, and in games like today I can fully accept that it happens sometimes.

"You're not supposed to win every game, but we're always looking to win, our idea is always to win, but if you don't you get a draw. That's why we're so consistent."

The fact that Kompany, a Premier League Hall of Famer, is able to chop, change and experiment at this stage of the season, tells you just how successful his first season in management in English football has been

Not everyone has the luxury of planning for the future with seven games of the current campaign left to play, after Burnley confirmed promotion on Good Friday.

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Despite making wholesale changes, which can cause mass disruption and compromise cohesion, the Clarets have been dominant against two sides fighting for their lives at the other end of the table.

The exercise, in both fixtures, was worth far more to Kompany than the face of the result itself, even if it did cost the table toppers a shot at the Royals' 106-point milestone.

The Millers might have taken a point at the "Big Apple" of South Yorkshire - The New York Stadium - after coming from behind twice, but even boss Matt Taylor, on the back of a rather timid altercation with Jack Cork and a member of Kompany's backroom team, applauded Burnley's brilliance and dominance.

He said: "They're a better version of what we faced at Norwich, they're a better version of what we faced at Hull, and they moved the ball better than anyone in the league.

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"The way they rotate and move, they actually threatened the space behind better than anyone I've faced at this level. This is such a fantastic lesson for any coach, any manager."

The Chorley-born former Exeter City and Charlton Athletic defender continued: "No matter who is on the pitch for them in their forward line, midfield line, even that full back line, they threaten the space in behind first and foremost, constantly making defenders go backwards and then creating space elsewhere on the pitch.

"They do it better than any team I've ever played against or coached against. We had to prepare the group to go both ways tonight, as opposed to just one way out of possession, but also try to encourage them that when we did get a sniff of the opposition goal to make the most of it."

The away side's movement, accompanied by the ruthless execution of their rotations, was breath-taking at times, as they drew the hosts in, continuously pulled them out of shape, and infiltrated the gaping pockets of space they'd manufactured.

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Scott Twine, whose dad, Steve, found a ticket at the last minute, was the first to benefit when Shane Ferguson was drawn to Ameen Al-Dakhil, while Cohen Bramall kept tabs on Vitinho.

That allowed Connor Roberts to peel around the back from a more central position, deliver the cross from the right hand side, allowing Burnley's summer signing to step away from Conor Coventry and volley into the corner.

The visitors could've conceivably been out of sight before the break when Lyle Foster and Vitinho battled for possession on the angle of United's penalty area, only for the Brazilian's effort to drop just beyond the upright with Josh Vickers out of position.

But after Twine was unable to reach Vitinho's cross, the hosts levelled with a stroke of fortune, which spawned from a quite brilliant delivery from Ferguson, which crept over the line at the far post when striking Vitinho.

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It was a source of frustration for Kompany in the aftermath. The Manchester City legend acknowledged the self-inflicted nature of the equaliser, with both Jordan Beyer and Anass Zaroury culpable, though he felt there was an infringement on goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

“I did have question marks as well about three players piling down the middle through our goalkeeper on a corner,” he said. “I’d like to review that again because although it’s our own doing because of the way we concede the corner.

"It’s not even a complaint, it’s just a question mark because we played a game a couple of days ago and the whistle got blown quite a few times for blocks, about two or three times last game, which fair enough if those are the rules, but then when there’s three guys just punching through your goalkeeper before the goal has even arrived, I thought the rules were different but it’s more a question than a statement.”

An inspired performance from rookie goalkeeper Robbie Hemfrey, introduced at half-time after Vickers had struggled with a groin strain, forced the Clarets to keep knocking at the door, with no sign of entry.

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The 21-year-old novice twice denied Johann Berg Gudmundsson, and then parried Roberts' attempt to safety, before Foster was a whisker away from converting the Icelander's cross.

It was another assertive and perfectly-weighted pass that fed Gudmundsson in the lead up to the South African striker's chance, but the execution and complexity of the pass from Manuel Benson into Twine was even better, though the summer signing was unable to find the finish from a tight angle.

Benson was in the groove, after replacing Vitinho with 20 minutes remaining, and produced a finish reminiscent of that at Turf Moor back in November, when the Clarets scored twice in time added on to win a five-goal thriller.

Josh Cullen, as always, was the man in the thick of the action, winning the ball from Chiedozie Ogbene, before feeding Benson who, using Tariqe Fosu as his shield, whipped the ball into the corner.

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That should've been that - it was a finish worthy of winning any football match on any stage - but the away side showed a little bit of greenness to allow the Millers back in for a second time.

Wes Harding's long throw was recycled back to him, his cross wasn't dealt with appropriately by Al-Dakhil, Ogbene pulled the ball back from the byline, and substitute Georgie Kelly swept the ball home.

It was a disappointing way to end, but let’s not allow this to detract from the successes which preceded it Burnley are off to the Premier League, regardless of what happens from hereon in, and they might just celebrate it as champions against Rovers, whether they like it or not!