Blues boss Kieran McKenna believes Town’s fourth-round FA Cup tie at home to Championship leaders Burnley will be a great reference point for the Blues’ progress and aims.

The Clarets, who are managed by Vincent Kompany, are currently five points ahead of Sheffield United at the top of the Championship.

“I really liked it,” McKenna said when asked what he thought of the tie. “I was really happy with the draw. I think when you talk about a reference point for where we're at and where we want to be, I think Burnley are a fantastic reference for that.

“I think they are the best team in the Championship by a mile this year, in my opinion.

“Hopefully, Middlesbrough [who are managed by his friend and former Manchester United colleague Michael Carrick] can catch them up, but in my opinion they've been the best side in that division by a long way, playing a really, really exciting and brave style of football, and I've got a lot of respect for what they've done there. It'll be a great reference for us in terms of our development as a team.

“Of course, it’s a home game, we want to make it difficult for them, we want to try and win the game, we want to win the tie, we want to go to the next round and it's a really good game to look forward to.”

The match will be played at some point over the weekend of January 28th with the home League One game against Accrington Stanley postponed as a result.

Photo: TWTD

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