FORMER Burnley boss Chris Waddle believes the Clarets deserve to stay in the Premier League, because they play the brand of football people pay to watch.

The ex-Spurs, Sheffield Wednesday and England winger has applauded his old club for not being afraid to show flair in the top flight instead of going down the long-ball, bully-boy route.

But he has warned they will need to roll their sleeves up for a survival scrap in their remaining 13 games, of which he predicts at least five wins will be necessary to stay out of the bottom three, almost doubling their successes so far.

Back-to-back wins over Manchester United and Everton in their opening two home games scuppered suggestions that the Clarets’ would be the Premier League’s latest whipping boys.

However, having since twice dropped into the bottom three, Waddle is wary that similar coups, and that elusive away win, will be harder to come by at the business end of the season.

“Promotion’s exciting for the fans, the players and the club, and the enthusiasm and adrenaline gives you that extra yard,” said the 49-year-old.

“But it’s hard to sustain that at this level. You push your body and play above average.

“At Championship level you could probably get away with a few bad performances, but in the Premier League you get punished.

“They have learnt the hard way how ruthless it is.

“They’ve had highs and lows.

“Obviously they’re still in a fight to stay up, which is going to go right to the end.

“They’ve held their own in the Premier League, but they’re starting to feel the pace now. It’s difficult because teams know a lot more about Burnley Football Club than they did at the start of the season.

“It’s not a high profile club so a lot of players who they were playing against probably didn’t do much homework on them early on. I think they caught a lot of teams cold.

“A lot more is known about them the second time around.

“And even though there’s been a change of manager, the style hasn’t altered that much because Brian Laws likes to play attractive football and get the ball down like Owen Coyle did.”

Waddle is nevertheless hopeful that a rollercoaster season can end on a high, although March provides the acid test.

“They’ve got Portsmouth to come at the end of this month. They’re a decent side but on the road they’ve lost a bit of belief. After that they’ve got Stoke, Wolves and Blackburn Rovers at home,” he noted.

“If they were only to take three points that would leave them sitting next to Portsmouth at the bottom, but if they were to take eight or nine they’ve got a right chance.

“There are a lot of teams down there who have started to pick up points, so you’re probably looking at five or six wins from their remaining 13 games to make sure.

“People say it’s not hard, but it is. If you look at Hull last season they were riding high and then went into freefall and were just lucky on the last day.

“It’s only a month since Sunderland were seventh, but they’ve only picked up the odd point since and they’ve been dragged into it.

“You’ve just got to look after your own.”

Waddle remains fond of Burnley, despite an ill-fated 10-month spell as player-manager in 1997/98, and added: “I hope they stay up.

“Even though I had a tricky time there I know the fans appreciated good football. I’m a great believer in entertaining football, and they deserve to stay up for that alone.

“I would rather have Burnley stay up than teams who are physical and direct.

“It’s not cheap to watch Premier League football - people spend their hard earned money and when they watch Burnley they see the ball on the floor.

“They’ve beaten Man United and Everton already so they are capable of getting results.

"They’ve just got to keep that belief.”