Our fairytale would be up there with the best - Wood
The Foxes, coached by the Italian ‘Tinkerman’ Claudio Ranieri and captained by Wes Morgan, had only won the Championship title two terms previously, when the Clarets finished runners up to them, but just three defeats in the top flight saw them win it by a margin of 10 points.
That was the joint fifth biggest gulf in 25 years of the PL - with the exception of the current campaign - a remarkable transition considering that they had lost 19 times the previous season, hanging on to their status at that level by the skin of their teeth.
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Hide AdBurnley, with record signing Wood as their top scorer, are currently writing a best-selling story of their own in the division.
Tipped as one of the favourites to go down at the start of the season, Sean Dyche’s side are now as short as 1/7 to finish as the best on the ladder outside the top six, giving themselves hope of qualifying for Europa League.
Again, it has been a truly outstanding turnaround in form. The Clarets, who won once on the road last term, claimed their seventh win away from home against Watford at Vicarage Road at the weekend to move six points clear of tomorrow’s opponents.
A fifth victory in succession could provide the club with European football for the first time in more than 50 years, when the club featured in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup during the 1966/67 season.
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Hide Ad“It would have to be up there,” said Wood. “We were one of the favourites to go down at the start of the season and this group of lads have shown that we’re a lot better than what they say. If that happens, it’s a long way off and it’s a big ‘if’, it would be up there.
“It’d be on another level. It would be another target to tick off. It’s still a long way off now, there’s still a long time to go. We’ve just got to keep knuckling down and working hard.
“At the moment we’re not thinking about that. At the end of the season, if it comes, then we can talk about it. For now it’s all about playing games.
“We’ve still got Leicester City to play, we’ve still got Arsenal to play, we’ve still got a lot of other teams to play. It’s going to be difficult so we’re just going to take it game by game and see where it goes.”
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Hide AdThe 26-year-old New Zealand international made 62 appearances for the Foxes in all competitions after Nigel Pearson brought him in at the King Power Stadium from West Brom in 2013.
He scored nine goals, including one in the Premier League in a 2-2 draw against Everton, before moving on to Leeds United.