Turf Moor ready for last game of a fantastic season

Ipswich were the last visitors last season and on that occasion it was the last day of the season. Having said that the two seasons could not have been more different.

It was a relaxed atmosphere a year ago. We'd won at Wolves a week earlier to ensure we would remain in the Championship for the new season and went on to beat Ipswich 2-0 with goals from Junior Stanislas and Martin Paterson in what was his last game for the club after five years at Turf Moor.

This year it will be a relaxed atmosphere again, and just as was the case a year ago it is because we picked up the points we so needed in the previous game, this time not to keep us in the Championship but to take us to the Premier League.

Monday was Ben Mee's best moment in football by a mile

No matter what happens in this game, and in next week's at Reading, we will end the season in second place after Leicester won at Bolton on Tuesday night to clinch the title.

Ben Mee, the Clarets Mad man of the match in Monday's promotion clinching win against Wigan, has, like the other players in the squad, been able to talk about promotion this week after months of having the word banned.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, he said: "At the beginning of the season when we were up at the top with a great start, we believe all along really.

"From the moment we started playing we thought 'we can do this' but it was underneath. We weren't showing it off or anything or talking about it, the gaffer was adamant we weren't going to talk about it."

He added: "The team spirit and everyone pulling in one direction, it was fantastic to be involved in and to play in. It's been a great season.

"Monday was a big test of our mental abilities to see it out, and we saw it out comfortably in the end really. Hopefully everyone can enjoy it. All the fans will enjoy it and we certainly will. It's been my best moment in football by a mile."

Mee missed the start of the season with an injury but returned for the League Cup tie against Preston. He was ruled out again over the Christmas period but has played 36 of our 44 league games this season, his best return since joining us, on loan initially, in the summer of 2011.

Tomorrow should be league appearance number 37 for him this season with manager Sean Dyche expected to retain a strong team to, as he put it, retain the integrity of the league.

Kieran Trippier, forced off towards the end of the game on Monday, is expected to be fit and it would not be a surprise if we kept the same team as clinched that promotion.

If so we will line up: Tom Heaton, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Ben Mee, Scott Arfield, Dean Marney, David Jones, Michael Kightly, Danny Ings, Ashley Barnes. Subs: Alex Cisak, Chris Baird, Kevin Long, David Edgar, Ross Wallace, Junior Stanislas, Keith Treacy.

Ipswich certainly have something to play for. They are currently in ninth place in the table and still looking at potentially finishing sixth, but Brighton's home win against Yeovil in the Friday night match has made it more difficult for them.

They are now four points behind Brighton, who have moved into the play-off places over Reading, so a defeat at Burnley would end any hopes of them making it and even a draw would really be fatal given their goal difference.

So this is an Ipswich team that will have no option but to go for the win which should, hopefully, make it an exciting contest.

One point from the last two games has cost them after they'd looked in with a really good chance. Their Easter programme started with a 3-1 defeat at Watford and was followed by a 2-2 home draw against Bournemouth whose own hopes of making the play-offs ended tonight.

Ipswich have received a boost with the news that defender Christophe Berra is fit to return after missing the Bournemouth game with a knee injury but that is countered with Luke Hyam still out of the reckoning with a hip injury.

Two other players were substituted during the Bournemouth game and both are rated doubtful. Anthony Wordsworth was forced off at half time after sustaining a dead leg and Paul Anderson followed during the second half with a hamstring injury that's been troubling him for some weeks.

Manager Mick McCarthy said: "Woody is still stiff and sore and he hasn't trained this week and I think Saturday will be too early for Ando (Anderson)".

Definitely out is leading goalscorer David McGoldrick. He's been ruled out for the season after undergoing knee surgery, but there could be a recall to the squad for former Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. He joined Ipswich in December but has started only one league game for them whilst making a further eight substitute appearances.

Ipswich's team on Easter Monday was: Dean Gerken, Frazer Richardson, Luke Chambers, Tommy Smith, Aaron Cresswell, Paul Anderson (Frank Nouble), Anthony Wordsworth (Paul Green), Jonathan Williams (Tyrone Mings), Cole Skuse, Stephen Hunt, Daryl Murphy, Subs not used: Scott Loach, Jay Tabb, Paul Taylor, Jack Marriott.

After the game we will be presented with the Championship runners up trophy on the pitch with the players all receiving their medals. It will the perfect end to the most brilliant of seasons at Turf Moor.

Last Time They Were Here

It was all about the number 11 for Burnley after last season's curtain call against Ipswich. The win took us to 11th in the table and left manager Sean Dyche to reach his first close season as Burnley manager with a league record of 11 wins, 11 draws and 11 defeats.

The first half of the last game of the season offered little in terms of entertainment but it improved in the second half to give Burnley fans some hope that 2013/14 might just be a better season than the one that was finishing.

Martin Paterson scored in his last game for the Clarets

The game changed when Junior Stanislas came on as a substitute just under nine minutes into that second half, replacing Brian Stock who had been disappointing.

He'd only been on a few minutes when he opened the scoring with what looked like a superb finish from my vantage point. However, supporters on the other side of the ground confirmed it had taken a deflection.

Stanislas admitted: "I just hit it and it got a big deflection that took it past the 'keeper, but I'll take it, they all count."

The second goal came just three minutes from time when Danny Lafferty headed a Danny Ings corner towards goal. It looked as though a defender would clear but Martin Paterson nipped in to head home.

All that was left was for Sean Dyche to make two more substitutions, both in the 89th minute. Luke O'Neill came on for his league debut for Kieran Trippier and Brian Jensen replaced Lee Grant.

I think we all knew that Jensen was making his last appearance after ten years with the club but so, it turned out, was Grant who confirmed a few days later that he was going back to Derby.

Both Chris McCann and Paterson were also playing their last games and Marvin Bartley, an unused substitute, wasn't to play for the club again.

The teams on the last day of the 2012/13 season were;

Burnley: Lee Grant (Brian Jensen 90), Kieran Trippier (Luke O'Neill 89), Kevin Long, Jason Shackell, Danny Lafferty, Brian Stock (Junior Stanislas 54), Dean Marney, Chris McCann, Danny Ings, Martin Paterson, Sam Vokes. Subs not used: Marvin Bartley, Steven Hewitt, Cameron Howieson, Ross Wallace.

Ipswich: Scott Loach, Richard Stearman, Patrick Kisnorbo, Tommy Smith, Tyrone Mings, Carlos Edwards (Elliott Hewitt 80), Liam Hyam, Anthony Wordsworth (Jay Tabb 83), Aaron Cresswell, Frank Nouble (Jack Marriott 61), Daryl Murphy. Subs not used: Arran Lee-Barrett, Luke Chambers, Guirane N'Daw, Lee Martin.

Previous Games against Ipswich

Click HERE to see all previous results against Ipswich