Tony Cascarino: The Hard Work for Burnley Starts Now!
Congratulations to Burnley and Owen Coyle for their play-off final win but I’m afraid the hard work starts now! Owen has done a great job in getting the club promoted on a shoestring budget but to keep Burnley in the Premier League will take some doing.
Owen will have to delve into the transfer market in a pretty major way for the type of player he perhaps wouldn’t have targeted before so this will all be pretty new to him. Burnley need to recruit a better calibre of player than what is currently at the club so it promises to be a busy summer.
West Brom came up as a good footballing side, in fact of the three promoted sides they were the best. Just like Burnley they like to get the ball down and play but at Premier League level you need something more as you will be playing against teams with superior footballers. I’m not saying that Burnley should play direct football like Stoke but just that they need something a bit extra to what they have now.
One thing’s for certain is that Burnley won’t survive with the current squad they have so expect a half a dozen new recruits if the club are to stand any chance. Owen Coyle will learn a hell of a lot about his managerial skills next season.
I don’t think the excellent cup results over Premier League opposition such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Fulham and Spurs this season will make that much of a difference in 2009/10. It’s one thing winning a one-off cup tie when all the players have a spring in their steps but when massive games are coming thick and fast, it’s not so easy. Confidence is a big factor and there may come a stage when Burnley lose three or four back to back games and that’s when Coyle will have his work cut out.
Congratulations to everyone at Burnley but now the real hard work will start as they try to build a squad capable of survival in one of the toughest leagues in the world.
Tags: Burnley, Play-offs, Premier League, Tony Cascarino, West Brom
