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"We've just got to win tonight," were the words said to me just before kick off. They were right, and we did win and very much deserved to win and reached what is always target number one in any season, the magical fifty points.
Owen Coyle stood by those players who had made the howlers on Saturday and his only change was to bring back well again Ade Akinbiyi as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation. This saw Robbie Blake, rather than Kyle Lafferty, relegated to the bench with Lafferty taking up the position on the left hand side.
Ade was quickly into the game and won a good number of headers in the opening period, finding team mates on every occasion, but we were struggling to create much in terms of chances with the final ball into the box at times failing to find the incoming forwards.
As at Plymouth James O'Connor was getting up to support Ade and we were very much in the ascendancy. It needed a goal though, and we got it with just twenty minutes gone and it was a goal that was a swift reminder of the 4-2 win at QPR two weeks earlier.
Again it came from a right wing corner and again it was aimed at Steven Caldwell in a deep position to the left of goal. The skipper this time got up and won a good header back into the middle. Worryingly Kyle was waving his arm about and I'm still of the opinion that he got a touch, but we got away with it and it dropped for Clarke Carlisle who had his shot blocked.
It didn't matter, as it came out Chris McCann was lurking on the six yard line and hammered it home for his first goal since the home game against Preston. 1-0 up and it was no more than we deserved against a less than adventurous Coventry team.
That lead was almost doubled in the next attack and again Ade was at the fore with a good header down. This time it was to Jimmy O but his shot from the edge of the box was blocked.
Coventry had to try and get back into the game and they did come forward more, and they got the ball into our net. However, the assistant had had his flag up for some time for offside and play was called back before the ball hit the net.
The first half had been pretty average at best, but all the players had struggled with the conditions and we had been the better side and were well worth the half time lead.
It was very much the same at the beginning of the second half but we had to be alert a couple of times. Good defending prevented Jensen from having any work to do but for the first time I thought they looked capable of coming back into the game.
Coyle decided on a change just before the hour. Joey Gudjonsson was withdrawn and in a midfield shuffle he was replaced by the Arsenal youngster Mark Randall. It's easy to forget the lad is just eighteen years of age; he looks so comfortable on the ball almost to the point of being too casual, and is always looking to make good use of the ball.
He had an early shot that went wide, but then came Coventry's best moment for an equaliser. Maltese striker Michael Mifsud was allowed to get onto the ball on the edge of our box and hit a powerful shot towards the bottom corner. Now Jensen must have been frozen out there given how little action he'd had but he got down superbly to palm it away for a corner. It was a top save from him.
By the time we next saw Coventry come forward the game was all over and the points were ours. We followed that Jensen save with our best spell of the game and much of it was prompted by the impressive Randall.
He had another shot at goal, this time a curler that just cleared the bar, but it was his confidence on the ball that stood out and his ability to bring others into play. Suddenly Wade Elliott was getting into the game more and he put over one superb cross that Lafferty was just unable to get on the end of.
Robbie Blake came on for Lafferty and it was from Robbie's left wing corner that we made the points safe. Again it was hit beyond the far post for Caldwell, again he won the header, and this time headed in directly for his first ever Burnley goal.
That was it, there was no way back for Coventry, and although they did have one attack it came to nothing. The points were ours on a night when we were never going to see any really good football. But we got the points, we've reached fifty and we are right back just behind those play off positions.
Now we need the wind to drop, the temperatures to rise and someone to perform a miracle on the pitch before Watford arrive on Saturday.
The teams were;
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, James O'Connor, Joey Gudjonsson (Mark Randall 58), Chris McCann, Kyle Lafferty (Robbie Blake 78), Ade Akinbiyi (John Spicer 89). Subs not used: Gabor Kiraly, David Unsworth.
Coventry: Andy Marshall, Isaac Osbourne, Elliott Ward, Daniel Fox, Marcus Hall, Michael Mifsud, Kevin Thornton, Jay Tabb (Robbie Simpson 70), Michael Hughes, Julian Gray, Leon Best. Subs not used: Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, Scott Dann, Chris Birchall, Wayne Andrews.
Referee: Tony Bates (Stoke).
Attendance: 9,779.