Former Clarets striker backs Burnley to stay up

Austin, who played 90 games for the club between 2011 and 2013, scoring 45 goals, believes his old club have the quality needed to avoid the drop.

Sean Dyche’s men currently sit in 18th position in the Premier League table on 21 points, one point from safety. Everton are 17th and Frank Lampard’s side also have a game in hand.

However, Austin, who is in his second spell with Queens Park Rangers, is confident the Turf Moor outfit can stay in the Premier League with 12 games remaining this season in an interview with Mybettingsites

https://mybettingsites.co.uk/horse-racing-betting-offers/cheltenham-festival/

Austin said: “I do think Burnley will stay in the Premier League again.

"Every year you wonder if they are going to go down, but they always find a way to get out of it.

“You look at the results they have had recently and they have certainly been better, but they are currently in a situation which is a proper relegation battle.

"They need to get out of it, but I seem them getting out of it I really do.”

Austin believes the team in real danger of heading for the Championship are Everton, who suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Tottenham in their latest Premier League game. Lampard’s side have lost their last three, conceding eight goals without reply.

Austin continued: “I think there could be a real big surprise this year in terms of a team who are going to go down this year that nobody at the start of the season would have envisaged being relegated.

"I think Everton are bang in trouble. Frank Lampard needs time, but Spurs toyed with them and I think Jamie Carragher’s assessment of Everton’s back-four was very fair and very true.

“Whether people want to agree or not, it is honest. Frank needs time, but I did think bringing Rafael Benitez in at the beginning of the season was a terrible appointment.

"It was never going to work, you never had the fans on side and indeed they were only ever going to be on side if they went a run of games unbeaten and that was the only way he was going to turn that round.

“That didn’t happen and they’ve now got 10 games to go and whilst there’s a lot of points still on offer, they need to pick up a lot of points to get out of the situation they are in.”

Austin is also a massive horse racing fan and has enjoyed success in racehorse ownership with the likes of Another Batt. He is relishing this year’s Cheltenham Festival, although he said: “Sadly I won’t be able to go this year. We play Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night and we won’t be back till 3 a.m. in the morning, so it will be me and the wife watching at home.

“It has been a massive event for years. Unfortunately, everybody watched from home last year, but ITV and Racing TV did a brilliant job. To have the crowds back will just bring that extra bit of buzz.

“My NAP is Run Wild Fred in the National Hunt Chase and my Next Best is HMS Seahorse in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.”