Wood: We're Still Punching!

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Goal hero hails collective strength as Clarets do it again

2021-05-11T08:18:44.112Z

Wood: We're Still Punching!

Goal hero hails collective strength as Clarets do it again

2021-05-11T08:18:44.112Z

Chris Wood praised the qualities of the Clarets’ dressing room as he spearheaded the successful fight against the drop.

Wood scored his 12th goal of the season – and eighth in as many games – to seal a magnificent 2-0 win at Fulham which guaranteed Burnley’s safety and sent the Cottagers down.

And after recovering from a position at the foot of the table in November – without a win in the first seven games – and briefly back in the bottom three in December, Wood believes the Clarets’ collective spirit and ability got them through.

“It’s never been too difficult or too down in this dressing room and that’s the best thing about it,” said Wood, who followed up Ashley Westwood’s opener with a fantastic strike just before half-time to reach 50 goals in a Burnley shirt.

“We always know what we’ve got and we know what we can achieve. You might start off badly but it’s how you finish.

“It’s 38 games. It’s not about the first 10. We take that on board, we have a great mentality in the squad and that’s what sees us through.

“It’s a fantastic achievement for a team like Burnley. Everybody sees us as a little club and things like that but we definitely punch above our weight.

“We show what we’re about. We show commitment and we show fight, which is the nice thing about this club.”

The Clarets now know they will be playing in the Premier League for a sixth successive season after a sixth away win of the campaign ended any doubt and lifted Sean Dyche’s men up to 14th place in the table with three games to go.

Manager full of praise for his squad as Clarets look to build on safety

Burnley held their nerve superbly after a tricky run of four defeats in their last five games.

But Wood always felt the side was playing well enough to secure their status with his goal burst coming at the perfect time as he reached another landmark and got to within two of his best-ever tally of 14 in a season for the Clarets.

“I just want to get as many as I can for the team. Hopefully it comes and hopefully we have a great end to the season as a group,” added the New Zealand international, whose half-century for the Clarets has come up in just 141 appearances.

“I think it (the scoring streak) just coincides with the team performing well. Over the season we haven’t been the force we normally are but that’s what we deal with.

“They have to be put on a plate for me sometimes and it’s nice that I can put them away.

“It’s always nice to get another goal for the club and the team but the win was the most important thing on a night like tonight.

“I thought it was fantastic play from the lads – particularly in the first half. We had to dig in and fight in the second half but that’s what we are renowned for.

“I think the last six to eight games we’ve been fantastic.

“We’ve not always got the right results but we’ve been applying ourselves in the right way and that shows in games like these when we come through with a solid performance.

“We came here for that reason and it’s nice to get it over the line tonight.”