THOUSANDS of Burnley fans piled into the nation’s capital yesterday for a taste of the big time.

The army of coaches left Turf Moor at midday to arrive in London for the Carling Cup clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Clarets fans were advised not to arrive at the ground before 5pm for fears of congestion.

Lifelong Burnley fan, Mike Pollard, 42, said: “The atmosphere on the coach was great.

“We could see the other Burnley coaches on the motorway and the spirit was excellent.

“We all stopped at a service station just south of Birmingham and the Burnley songs were getting blasted out.

“We crossed paths with a Liverpool supp-orters coach believe it or not, and they joined in with the sing song!

“It was fantastic.”

Burnley fans said that they were hoping to make trips to Premiership grounds a regular occurrence next season.

“They said that playing Chelsea will give the team even more incentive to gain promotion.

Andy Elkington, 48, was also on a coach heading down South.

He said: “We always seem to do well against Premiership opposition, so why shouldn’t we believe we can get up there.

“Our fans are second to none, and there’ll be no comparison in terms of the volume.

“We silenced the Kop at Anfield, and we’ll do the same at Stamford Bridge.”