FORMER Claret David Unsworth has backed Burnley to stay up this season, although he hopes they find their form after Sunday’s meeting with Everton.

Unsworth spent the 2007/08 season at Turf Moor, but also made over 300 appearances for the Toffees and now coaches their under 21 team, alongside Alan Stubbs.

The former defender, who scored one goal in 31 games for Burnley, believes that getting Danny Ings and Sam Vokes back together will be key for the Clarets chances this season.

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“They have been missing those two lads up front,” he said. “They were both absolutely tremendous last season, they had a great understanding. I think when those two can play together again it will make a big difference, because they’re a great partnership.

“If you take your best strikers out of any team then it is going to be difficult, there isn’t players coming in who can reproduce the form of those two from last season.”

Although Ings returned from a hamstring injury in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham, Vokes remains on the sidelines after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the end of March.

Unsworth praised the spirit that the side has shown in the last 18 months, and thinks that will hold them in good stead as the season goes on.

“I think they’ve got a great chance of staying up,” he said. “They’ve got a brilliant manager. The spirit is there, the margins are smaller at this level but they can do it. They’re certainly not going to get beat by four or five every week.

“If they can get the two strikers back and performing like last season then they’ve got a great chance.

“The manager has to take credit for what they have achieved.”

During Unsworth’s season in East Lancashire he took his first foray into coaching, something for which he will always be thankful.

Since then he has twice had spells as caretaker manager at Preston North End, and has also been head of academy coaching and assistant manager at Sheffield United, before returning to his former club in September last year.

“I had a great year at Burnley,” he said, “Steve Cotterill was great for me as a senior player. Owen Coyle was the first person to offer me a coaching role, which was fantastic for me as a young coach, helping Steve Davis out.

“It’s a great club with a great tradition.”

He is now working at Finch Farm with the Toffees U21 side, as assistant to Stubbs, who is head coach, and it is a role he is relishing.

“We’ve got a great group of youngsters coming through,” he added. “We work very hard with the academy and we continue to produce players. It also helps that we have a great manager who is not afraid to play the youngsters.”

Everton ended a run of five games without a win with a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa last weekend, and they were in Europa League action last night against Lille in northern France.

Playing in Europe on Thursday and then back in the Premier League on Sunday can be a hindrance for some teams, but Roberto Martinez has embraced the competition so far.

“It was a big win for us last weekend, it was a terrific performance it gave everyone a lift,” said Unsworth.

“We’ve got the Europa League as well and that is something that the manager and the staff are really keen to do well, so it’s great to see us doing well in that competition.

“Obviously playing Thursday and Sunday can be tricky but that is why you have a squad and players are rotated. It’s a competition we want to do well in and we will certainly give it our best shot.”

Unsworth left Burnley the year before they secured promotion to the Premier League for the 2009/10 season, and he believes the top flight is even harder now than it was five years ago.

“The Premier League is getting better every year,” he added. “There are no easy games, you have to be playing to your highest level every week.

“If you don’t perform in the Premier League week in, week out, you get punished, and any little mistakes at this level will get punished as well, whereas perhaps you don’t get that moment of quality to punish you in the Championship all the time.

“You need to be concentrating for the whole 90 minutes, you can’t afford to switch off once.

“You have to take your chances when they come along and you can’t afford any mistakes at the back.

“Tactically and physically you need to be on it all game. But that’s why everyone wants to get here, it’s a great test every week for players and management.”