Clarets can bounce back up - Cort

Defender Leon Cort believes Burnley have every chance of returning to the Premier League if they can hold on to the majority of their squad. The Clarets' finally lost their grip on top-flight survival on Sunday after a 4-0 home defeat to Liverpool.Although that confirmed most people's pre-season prediction there were occasions early in the campaign when it looked as if there was a chance they would survive.Cort believes the current players have learned much from the experience and are better placed to make a swift Premier League return."The lads are down but the manager gave us a good talk afterwards and we are ready to bounce back," said Cort, who joined the club from Stoke in January."We have to look at building. We've got a lot of strength in depth and if we can keep the great set of boys here then we've got a great chance."I've only been here half a year and what I've seen has been brilliant because the lads really stick together and I'm hoping that nucleus stays."It will be tough because the Championship is a very hard league to get out of."Playing Saturday-Tuesday results go for or against you all the time and it is tough physical, demanding league."But we have to be up to the challenge because the club and the fans deserve that and the lads will be working hard."We've had a taste of the Premier League and we want to get that back. The lads are down but I'm positive."The 30-year-old admitted the relegation would gnaw away at him over the coming weeks and months and he expected his team-mates would feel the same.Cort said already he was reviewing the season - Burnley's first in the top flight for 33 years - and picking out instances where, if things had gone differently, the club could have possibly survived."You'll always think about it, no matter what. I'm not sure how long it will take us to get over it," he added."You will always look back on the games we could have won, maybe Wolves or Portsmouth (both 2-1 home defeats)."Any relegated team will always talks about ifs and buts but it was not to be."What can we do now? It's over. Everyone is depressed and rightly so but we want to get it right for next year."There was some comfort for the centre-back in the knowledge that relegation would not plunge Burnley into financial trouble, unlike the other two clubs destined for the Championship Portsmouth and Hull."It is nice the club is in a strong [financial] position," said the former Hull defender."It wouldn't be nice to come back to a points deduction before you start because that sets you on a downer."Hopefully we can get a good pre-season under our belts and be ready to go."Cort insisted the players would not drop their efforts in the remaining two matches as they owed it to the supporters."No-one likes to lose but it is personal pride now," he said."We'll go to Birmingham (on Saturday) and the fans deserve that the lads put in 100%."

Source: Team_Talk