OWEN Coyle has to put Saturday's defeat at Liverpool behind him now and look ahead to this weekend's lunchtime game at Turf Moor against Sunderland.

I thought the Clarets defended well at Anfield for 30 minutes, but obviously it all fell apart once Yossi Benayoun started his one-man show.

The pace of the game is so fast in the Premier League, but I think Burnley are adjusting well, and the points will start to come again.

Whether we stay up won't depend on games against the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea. This league has so many divisions in it now.

The big four and now possibly Manchester City are in the top division, and then there's the handful of teams like Aston Villa and Spurs who will be challenging for Europe. Then we've got probably the biggest division, which includes Burnley, Hull, Portsmouth, Wolves and Sunderland.

Now it's against these teams that will determine our future.

And that makes Saturday's game so important. We've won both games at Turf Moor this season – against Everton and Manchester United – and the fans can make sure we make it three on the run.

Stoke showed last year that if you make your own ground a fortress, then you will survive.

Burnley fans are brilliant, and they can make it such an intimidating atmosphere for Steve Bruce's boys.

I watched David Nugent play in the fund-raiser against Accrington Stanley and he looked full of energy. I was impressed with his movement off the ball, and he got himself into a lot of good positions. He certainly looks like a natural goalscorer.

His availability widens Coyle's options for Saturday, so he may opt to play with two big strikers. Owen will pick the formation he thinks best against a strong defence that includes Anton Ferdinand and new boy Michael Turner.

And at the other end of the field, Andre Bikey and Clarke Carlisle are going to have their hands full with Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones.

They seem to have struck up a real partnership, and it's no surprise Sunderland are in seventh spot with those two up front.

It's going to be an interesting and exciting match to watch, and a good spectacle for the Sky TV viewers. Let's hope we're celebrating three points before the rest of the Premier League kick off.