Wycombe Wanderers v Burnley - Pete Oliver's big match preview

BURNLEY will have to overcome the Wimbledon spirit if they are to extend their unbeaten away record to five games at Wycombe Wanderers tomorrow.

The man recently installed in the Chairboys' hotseat and charged with keeping them in the Second Division is former Wimbledon midfielder Lawrie Sanchez.

And having learned much of his trade at Plough Lane and Selhurst Park, Sanchez has brought some of the Dons' principles with him into his first management job in the Football League.

They include making the most of the resources at your disposal, which in terms of cash is not a lot where Wycombe are concerned.

"I took the job on under no illusions. It was explained to me and I wanted it.

"You have got to get on with it. It would be nice to have £20 million to spend in the first six months but it doesn't happen like that.

"I spoke to Brian Little the other day and he said he has no money to spend. If a club like Stoke with their tradition and their support have no money I can't complain," said Sanchez, who made over 250 League appearances for Wimbledon and was on the club's coaching staff before taking up the challenge at Adams Park at the start of the month.

Money is therefore not an issue for the 39-year-old former Northern Ireland international, who has rekindled his passion for the game after losing his wife to cancer and being downgraded from first-team coach to reserves' manager at Wimbledon.

He casts no envious glances towards Burnley who have spent close to £1.5 million since Christmas. "It's irrelevant. We played against £10 million worth of talent when we played Fulham two weeks ago," he added.

"We have got to play them and it's about what we do. I come from a club based on the idea of what you do, not the opposition. That's the way I was brought up."

Wycombe will certainly need the Crazy Gang spirit which established Wimbledon as a top-flight force and brought them FA Cup glory in 1988, thanks to Sanchez's goal against Liverpool, if they are to avoid the drop.

They are joint bottom of the table, have played more games than anybody else in the relegation zone and haven't won in six games.

The feeling is that Sanchez has raised morale at Adams Park but after a draw and a defeat in his first two games, albeit against title hopefuls Fulham and Preston, Wycombe need to put some points on the board. "If we are going to avoid relegation we have to beat the likes of Burnley and win our home games," admitted Sanchez, whose side lost eight home games under previous boss Neil Smillie.

"We are getting there. We have had two tough games but I feel, and I know the lads feel, we deserved to get something from both games."

And coming from Wimbledon, it's no surprise that Sanchez, who also had a year in management at Irish club Sligo Rovers, believes the relegation fight is one they can win.

"Until such a time when it is mathematically impossible we feel we can stay up.

"That's the way I came into the job. If we win 16 out of 16 we stay up. That's a fact of life and until it's out of our hands we have a chance," he insisted.

The first step would be a win over the Clarets and Sanchez's first three points as a manager. "It would be very nice," he admitted.

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