Burnley midfielder Jack Cork believes the relegation battle will ‘go right to the end’ as he called Everton a ‘massive club’.
Cork has been key in Burnley’s recent form with 10 points from four games seeing them rise up the table to 16th. Following Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Watford, in which the former Southampton man scored, Burnley are ahead of Leeds United on goal difference and two points clear of Everton, who do have a game in hand.
Cork has been ever-present since Mike Jackson replaced Sean Dyche in the Turf Moor dugout. He had only made 12 appearances this season before Dyche was sacked and in his last eight starts, the Clarets have gathered 17 points, half of their Premier League total.
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Cork, speaking to the Burnley Express, said: “Everything feels good at the moment but we’ve got a lot of work to do. Everton chasing us, Leeds behind us now, they’re not going to give up.
"They’re massive clubs and we need to keep pushing to the end. They will pick up points so we’ve got to be right on it in the last few games. It’s not a comfortable cushion, it’s going to go right to the end, there’ll be a lot more ups and downs I think.”
In the run-in, Burnley face Aston Villa home and away, Tottenham Hotspur away and host Newcastle United on the final day. And Cork believes the Clarets' squad is well-equipped to deal with the pressure.
He said: “This is the closest I’ve been to relegation in the last 10 years. We’re used to the pressure games we need to get results in, so hopefully the other teams will find it more difficult. Everton have a game in hand on us, with the size of the clubs I’d probably say we aren’t (favourites), we’ve got a little cushion but football changes so quickly.”
Cork reckons Burnley’s form and momentum will be key and hailed the impact of the club’s fans. He said: “If we’d had lost the last few games coming to Watford, we probably wouldn’t have come away with anything there [2-1 win] but the way we have been… if we’d been losing, the fans probably wouldn’t have been as good as they were and probably wouldn’t have given us that bit extra.
“Villa won again [2-0 victory over Norwich], we’ve got two home games left, we’ve got Tottenham away which will be tough - all of them will be tough - but momentum is a good thing in football and hopefully we can use that in the last four games.”
