BURNLEY will start as the underdogs at Loftus Road on Sunday afternoon but 41 years ago the boot was on the other foot.

And Clarets legend John Connelly remembers only too well how close the unfancied Cottagers came to upsetting the mighty Burnley side of the early 60s.

"As soon as the draw was made it brought back memories of our semi-final against Fulham," admitted Connelly.

"They were a first division side like we were but everyone was predicting that it would end up as a dream final between us and Spurs at Wembley.

"It nearly didn't turn out like that because I don't think we had ever played as badly as we did in that first game at Villa Park.

"The conditions weren't the best and it was a very dour game but there was absolutely no doubt that Fulham had deserved to win. They played out of their skins, raised their game and we had a real job to hang in there."

And it was Connelly who struck the vital equaliser to set-up a replay at Leicester City's Filbert Street ground ten days later.

"We scraped a goal and a draw but as we left the pitch we knew that the advantage was with us," he confessed. "I knew their players and I was looking at the likes of George Cohen and Tony Macedo and I could see they were sick.

"They had played so well and not beaten us and I think they knew that there was no way we would ever play so badly again. We knew that and so did they.

"I still don't know why we did struggle so much in the first game, maybe because it was a semi-final and there is so much resting on it. Everyone says it is the worst round to go out in because no one ever remembers the losing semi-finalists.

"At least we did get it right in the second game, we played a lot better, hit form and Robbo (Jimmy Robson) got a couple of goals to get us to Wembley. We played our normal game then, if we got one we wanted two and that was our real strength going forward."

The fact that Burnley came so close to slipping up against Fulham all those years ago is just one reason why Connelly believes that the Clarets can get a result at Loftus Road this weekend.

"Cup matches are completely different to anything else," he said. "In that semi with Fulham we were top of the tree but it did not matter, in those 90 minutes we were left to scrap for our lives.

"I really believe that anything could happen at Fulham because there are always teams that come through and create an upset.

"Stan Ternent's team has already done that his year. They played really well to beat Tottenham Hotspur and also gave Man United a good game.

"No disrespect to Fulham, they are a good side, but if Burnley could create chances against Spurs and United they can do so against Fulham.

"They look to be almost safe in the Premiership so they will be really up for the Cup.

"But here is hoping that history repeats itself and the Clarets can beat them again.

"Let's hope that this time it is the underdogs that have their day."

Burnley side v Fulham (1962 FA Cup semi-final, replay): Blacklaw, Angus, Elder, Adamson, Miller, Connelly, Joyce, McIlroy, Pointer, Robson, Harris.