WELL, the first thing to say is well done. Well done for progressing to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Well done for avoiding what was a potential banana skin. And well done for if not swelling the club's coffers, then at least making them seem a little less threadbare than they were at 3pm on Saturday.
As for the draw, well there are two ways to look at it. On the down side, ex-Claret Steve Guinan could have done his old club a favour by pulling out a bigger fish than Gillingham.
This is no offence to the Gills who will hardly regard Burnley away as a just reward for disposing of Premiership Charlton in round three.
It's just that there is no way the fixture will attract a big crowd. Nor can one imagine rival TV companies getting embroiled in a scrap over who should screen the tie. In other words, the draw was not the all-important cash cow which the moneymen at Turf Moor would have been hoping form.
However, on the plus side, Clarets supporters will have been delighted to see Ian Rush draw Burnley at home for the first time in a long time. The Clarets only FA Cup home games last season were replays against Grimsby and Fulham.
The other positive is that the game is winnable and affords Burnley not only the chance to progress, but also another opportunity to make some money in the fifth round of the competition.
Dave Edmundson has said that the Cup could be a financial lifeline for the club. It's one the Clarets need to grab with both hands.
But back to Saturday, and a thoroughly professional display from Burnley. On the back of four straight defeats this was a tricky tie, but the Clarets dominated from start to finish.
The new-look back four was solid, Chaplow and Grant were always in control in the middle of the park, whilst Blake and Ian Moore proved far too hot for Mansfield to handle.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of downsides. Jay McEveley had been looking very much the part at left back until his unfortunate injury brought a premature end to his loan spell. Get well soon, Jay. And then there was the needless sending off Richard Chaplow for stupidly kicking the ball away. Quite why some of Burnley's fans applauded Chappy off the field escapes this correspondent.
Still, all's well that ends well and at least the Clarets are still in the Cup. Unlike Blackburn Rovers. One Rovers fan I spoke to even regarded it as a blessing in disguise. "Who wanted to win the FA Cup?" he said, "we'd only humiliate ourselves again in Europe."
In closing, let's hope Burnley can pick up three points at Palace on Saturday and pull themselves away from the bottom three.
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