Woody Ready To Go Again

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Striker aims to stay in the groove as in-form Clarets prepare to start run-in

2021-04-02T07:54:46.857Z

Woody Ready To Go Again

Striker aims to stay in the groove as in-form Clarets prepare to start run-in

2021-04-02T07:54:46.857Z

Top scorer Chris Wood is targeting a successful end of season as the Clarets enter the final straight of their Premier League campaign.

Burnley end a three-week gap between fixtures when they go to Southampton on Sunday.

Their last outing brought a superb 2-1 victory at Everton and a third goal in six games for Wood.

And with Sean Dyche’s men going into their final nine games after the international break 15th in the table and seven points clear of the bottom three following just one defeat in eight league games, Wood wants them to pick up where they left off.

PL PREVIEW: Southampton v Burnley - Image 5

“We all want to fight and finish the season on a positive note,” said the Clarets’ striker, who is on half-a-dozen goals for the campaign.

“I don’t think we need to aim for a top-half finish, or anything fancy. Let’s just do what we can and enjoy the final games and have a smile on our face come the end.

“Morale is always high and long may that continue. We are always positive and we never really feel like we’re in trouble, because we know we have a good group of lads who will work hard.

“We’re always backing ourselves to be fine at the end of the day. We know it’s not over yet, but we definitely feel we have enough to see ourselves through.

“We have some good winnable games coming up, which could well see us pull further clear.

“We’ve been here before and been in tough situations, but ultimately when that happens we are a squad who just gets on and deals with it.

“We have good team spirit and we know a win is always around the corner if we keep working hard.”

The Clarets head to St Mary’s Stadium level on points with the Saints – FA Cup semi-finalists but with just one win in 12 league games – and five points ahead of Newcastle United who are the next visitors to Turf Moor on Sunday-week.

Burnley have put themselves within touching distance of a sixth successive season in the top-flight with the result at Everton ending a five-game wait for a win.

And Wood is looking to build on that result by quickly adding further to the points’ tally – which currently stands at 33.

“We followed Spurs (a 4-0 defeat) with three games that we knew were going to be tough, but equally we knew we could pick up points,” added the New Zealand skipper, who has not been on international duty during the current break.

“We bounced back from Tottenham, which was nice to see, and picked up some good points and the win at Everton, going into the break, was vital.

“We are looking upwards. That was the platform that the Everton win gave us and we have two winnable games coming up.

“But that’s only on paper, so we are going to have to go into them and apply ourselves in the right manner to come out with the right results.

“Southampton are a top-quality side when they are on form. They showed that at the start of the season and that’s why they had such a good buffer.

“The last run of games probably hasn’t been what they wanted and they’ll maybe feel a little disappointed.

“But we know their strengths and maybe this international break has helped them to re-gather and re-group, so we are going to have to go there and focus on ourselves, implement our style and hopefully that will be enough to come home with three points.”