ROBBIE BLAKE WANTS TO BE PANTS

ROBBIE BLAKE will be thrilled if his big day out at Wembley ends up being pants - because it will mean the Burnley striker can look forward to life in the Premier League.

The veteran hitman plans to celebrate winning promotion tomorrow by dropping his shorts to show off his comedy underwear.

Blake first revealed his red pants bearing the legend Bad Beat Bob when scoring at Coventry in October.

The wording relates to his poor card-playing on the team bus when Burnley travel to away games.

The underwear became a novelty item around Burnley, with the club shop making a tidy profit from selling them to fans. But now he is aiming for one more airing by seeing off Sheffield United at the home of football.

He said: "I am taking my pants with me and I will be wearing them. I have to because we have only lost two games out of 20 since I starting putting them on.

"Hopefully, my shorts will end up around my ankles at the end of the game because we have got the right result."

Blake is certain Burnley will book a place in the Premier League after boss Owen Coyle convinced his team they are invincible. Coyle has used cup victories over top-flight outfits Chelsea, Arsenal, Fulham and West Brom to persuade his stars to back their ability.

And the mind games have worked with Burnley challenging for a £60million prize - a place in football's holy land.

Blake added: "The gaffer is very positive and he instils a feeling in us that when we leave the changing room we are unbeatable. Going out and defeating Premier League teams adds to that sense and gives us real confidence for Wembley."

OWEN COYLE - in demand

Burnley chairman Barry Kilby is still brought to tears by the memory of the day the club almost dropped out of the Football League.

It was the spring of 1987 and the Clarets needed to beat Leyton Orient in the last game of the season to retain a chance of avoiding relegation from the old Fourth Division. They beat the promotion-chasing Londoners 2-1 and condemned Lincoln to the drop.

Kilby said: "I was at the Orient game as a supporter and even now when I watch a dvd of the game I still have tears in my eyes at certain points."

Success has been achieved on a shoestring budget making Coyle one of the hottest managerial properties outside of the top flight.

The former Bolton striker has won many admirers since arriving from St Johnstone in 2007 and keeping hold of him could prove difficult.

"You are always open to that," admitted Kilby. "I think Owen would love to be manager of Burnley in the Premier League, pitting his wits against the big boys.

"And why not?"

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