JAMIE Hoyland is no stranger to relegation battles.

But the current struggle he is involved in is the one every professional player must dread above all others - a fight for Football League survival.

Having left Burnley last summer - after two relegation scraps in the three seasons he was at Turf Moor - Hoyland joined Scarborough on a two-year contract.

But unless the former Clarets' defender can help mastermind a dramatic revival then the second half of that deal could be spent in the Nationwide Conference.

"That's what I am looking at and that's what's worrying me to be honest," Hoyland admitted.

"I don't want to end my career by being relegated to the Conference.

"But I don't want to leave a sinking ship, I want to battle it out with them. I have been there all season and they are a good set of lads."

Hoyland had that sinking feeling when Burnley were relegated from Division One in his first season at the club.

And last year he played only a bit-part under Chris Waddle as the Clarets survived on the final day.

But in many ways those scrapes pale into comparison with the loss of Football League status - as anybody associated with Burnley in 1987 will tell you.

Hoyland is confident, however, that Scarborough can pull off the great escape, despite being five points adrift at the bottom of the Third Division with a game in hand over their nearest rivals in distress.

"I think we can stay up, to be honest," he said. "Everything is a lot more positive and we have signed a few more players.

"If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago I would have said we couldn't, but I really think we have got a chance now."

The Seasiders have a new manager in Colin Addison, who has seen it all before at the lower reaches of the English League with Hereford United and abroad with the likes of Celta Vigo and Atletico Madrid.

And another of the new arrivals to inspire confidence in Hoyland is his former Burnley team-mate Tony Parks. "He's been a good signing. He helps a lot with his talking and it's been great to see him," said Hoyland, who is playing well again as a sweeper behind two teenage central defenders. Derek Mountfield of Everton fame provides the back-up.

Parks made an impressive debut in a 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Brentford on Saturday, a highly creditable result for the Seasiders but one which left them with a bigger gap to close thanks to Hull's win at Halifax.

Yet Hoyland feels it may not be Hull - managed by another former Clarets team-mate, midfield man Warren Joyce - who Scarborough overtake to preserve the League status they gained the year Burnley nearly went the opposite way.

"You think they'll get out of it with the crowd they have," said the 33-year-old former Sheffield United and Bury man.

"Liam (Robinson, also at Scarborough via Burnley) went to see them at Halifax and he said they were different class.

"But Hartlepool only drew and as long as we keep winning or getting results we will catch somebody."

If Burnley supporters think they have had off-the-field problems in recent times, then it's nothing compared with events at the McCain Stadium.

The chairman who started the season in charge at Scarborough is back at the helm following a failed and bitter takeover attempt by Anton Johnson, who has previously attracted the attention of the footballing authorities for his roles with the likes of Rotherham and Southend.

And, amid all the ensuing chaos, Scarborough slipped to the foot of the table on the back of a disastrous run with manager Mick Wadsworth finally departing for Colchester after failing to stop the rot.

"It feels like a football club again, that's the main thing. It may not be too late," stressed Hoyland, who is experiencing first-hand how the other half lives in the world of professional football.

"It's not a culture shock as such but for instance for away games we always travel on the day.

"At Burnley we were treated like kings. I wasn't expecting that but it is the other side of football," he admitted. "You get people earning £40,000 a week and we go to Brentford, Brighton and Southend on the morning of the match with no pre-match meal, just some chicken sandwiches.

"We played on Saturday and got £10 for a point. Some lads are out of pocket from what it's cost them to get to where they are picked up on the way.

"If you told people they would say 'that can't be right, you're professional footballers.

"But I wouldn't swap it for anything. It's still playing football."

And if Hoyland has his way, it will be playing football in the Football League again next season.

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