PLAYED 14, won one, drawn one, lost 12. Scored 13, conceded 46. Yes, that’s the combined away record of Blackburn Rovers and Burnley in the Premier League this season.

Compare that with the home record. Played 14, won nine, drawn three, lost two. Scored 22, conceded 13.

So what are we to make of such statistics?

The discrepancies are quite startling, even if they can partly be explained away by the opposition.

Of the top seven – and it now seems that there is a top seven emerging after Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City’s apparent progress into the Premier League elite – Blackburn Rovers and Burnley combined have faced seven of them away yet only four at home.

But what of the rest?

Why are Rovers losing 3-0 at Everton, yet beating Aston Villa at home?

How is it that Burnley can keep a clean sheet in victory over Manchester United at Turf Moor, yet concede five at West Ham?

We are told that the atmosphere at Premier League grounds is now more sterile than ever. The noise subsided when the working class fan was priced out.

But can this really be the case?

How else can you explain the fact that many sides – Rovers and Burnley are by no means the exception – have such vastly contrasting home and away records this season.

Even East Lancashire’s solitary away win in the Premier League this season – achieved by Rovers at Bolton – came in a morgue of an atmosphere just a few short miles away.

A couple of seasons ago there were more away wins than home wins in League Two for a long period.

But that is a rarity.

The truth is that the supporter still makes all the difference.

Many have been disillusioned by the riches on offer to Premier League stars in recent years, citing the ever-weakening bond between player and fan.

What difference does it make, they think, if I turn up and shout on a Saturday? The players have too much money to care.

Yet all the evidence overwhelmingly suggests otherwise.

Both Rovers and Burnley have made commendable – and, in the context of the Premier League, frankly unusual – gestures this season.

Rovers reduced season ticket prices to one of the lowest in all four divisions, while Burnley honoured a pledge to give last year’s season ticket holders free entrance. As a result, attendances have been good and home form have been strong.

And, if it is home form that keeps both away from the relegation zone this season, their gestures will have been rewarded.