Scott Wharton has emphasised the importance of this weekend’s derby clash between Blackburn Rovers and Burnley.

The East Lancashire derby returns on Sunday, with both sides looking for a win that will seal a top of the table status for the World Cup break.

The Clarets currently lead Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side by two points going into the fixture, but the Blackburn defender knows the importance of taking the lead in the table even at this early stage of the season.

The Rovers academy graduate has claimed that the teams’ position in the table has given the game an extra edge and has increased the squad’s desire to claim a big three points away to their rivals.

“It’s definitely the biggest game of our season so far, without a shadow of a doubt,” said Wharton, via the Lancashire Telegraph.

“The way the two teams are positioned, first and second, it makes it an even bigger game.

“The fact that whoever wins goes into the World Cup break top of the table makes it even bigger.

“It’s still early on in the season, we’re not even halfway through, but being first and second going into a four-week break with the World Cup, for the team to reset and do a lot of training, there’s more on the game, definitely.

“Going into the break, no matter what, we’ve had a great start to the season and people probably haven’t expected us to be in the position that we are which is credit to everyone at the club, the lads, the staff, especially with a new manager, losing some players, bringing others in, I think we’ve done really well so far.

“We need to go into Sunday and give it our best.”

 

 

This will be the last Championship fixture until December with the league set to be put on hold due to the winter World Cup in Qatar.

Both sides come into the game having won midweek in the League Cup, but Burnley did lose only their second league game of the campaign last weekend to 3rd place Sheffield United.

Meanwhile, Blackburn have won five of their last six in the league to keep pace with Vincent Kompany’s side.

The Verdict

The top two teams in the table playing each other is a big game at any stage of the season beyond the opening few games.

That it is also a heated local rivalry only makes matters more important for both teams.

Both teams will be looking to gain an edge on their rival, which could have a big significance for the rest of the season.

Wharton will know as well as anyone how much this game means for supporters too, having come through the academy as a local youngster.