Burnley probably need to win at Tottenham on Sunday to have a chance of staying in the Premier League. But history is not on their side. Admittedly the two clubs have spent a number of years in different divisions, yet the Clarets have lost eleven matches and drawn once in their twelve visits to White Hart Lane since 1993.
You have to go back a further ten years for Burnley's last victory at Tottenham. An extraordinary Milk Cup quarter final win that defied belief, tore up the form book, and smashed up the template on how to prepare for a football match at the top level. On and off the pitch, chaos ruled on Wednesday January 19, 1983.
By January 1983 the writing was on the wall. With just five league victories, relegation seemed inevitable, and it was only the club's exploits in the cup competitions that provided any relief. Wins over top flight clubs Coventry and Birmingham saw Burnley reach the last eight of the Milk Cup, and the club would make the same stage in the FA Cup.
There appeared to be very little chance of an upset as Burnley prepared to take on Tottenham in the Milk Cup quarter final. Keith Burkinshaw's team were building a reputation as cup kings, having won the last two FA Cups, and they had agonisingly lost to Liverpool in the previous League Cup final. Those Burnley fans travelling to the capital may have been fearing the worst.
Sadly, Miller did not make it that far. There was slight confusion over the timing of the news, but as the coach left for London on the night before the match, it was clear that Miller had been relieved of his duties. Some reports stated that Miller had been sacked on the day of the match - his 46th birthday - but either way he was not on the coach for the trip down south.
Coach Frank Casper was put in temporary charge, tasked with toppling a Tottenham team full of seasoned internationals. Recalling keeper Alan Stevenson to the team - Billy O'Rourke had conceded a goal the previous Saturday to his opposite number Jim McDonagh in a 3-0 loss at Bolton - Casper could also call on the returning influence of skipper Martin Dobson.
Stevenson played his part in a first half that naturally saw Tottenham dominate. Prompted by Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles - playing his first home match in nine months after a loan period at Paris Saint-Germain - the Burnley keeper kept out a number of efforts. Brian Laws cleared a Graham Roberts effort off the line, with a Hoddle header striking the bar, as Burnley clung on until half-time.
Frustratingly for the visitors they were then outdone, not by glorious football, but from a long Gary Mabbutt throw into their area. With Mike Phelan and Willie Donachie both missing chances to clear, Terry Gibson stole in to hand Tottenham the lead less than a minute into the second half. Surely the floodgates would now open.
The goals did flow after Gibson's opener, but not in the expected manner. With 25 minutes to go, Trevor Steven played a short corner to Laws, and his cross was headed into his own net by Roberts on what would become a night to forget for the Spurs centre back. The 3,000 Burnley supporters that had made the trip celebrated their unexpected equaliser. Amazingly there was more to come.
Suddenly panic engulfed the previously unruffled Tottenham defence. Even the usually dependable Ray Clemence looked shaky, rushing from his line in the 75th minute before clearing straight to Kevin Young and then handling outside his box. Referee Alf Grey resisted calls from Burnley's players to send off the Spurs keeper - this particular offence was not an automatic dismissal back in 1983 - but justice would be served soon.
From the resulting free kick, Young's cross was helped on by Steve Taylor, allowing Northern Ireland international Billy Hamilton to finish from close range. The match had been turned on its head within the space of ten mad minutes. "I didn't think there were too many problems until we gave them an own goal equaliser," Burkinshaw admitted. "Then we went crackers."
Attacking with reckless abandon, Tottenham left themselves open to further damage and with just five minutes remaining the match was over. A Taylor run down the right was rewarded when the luckless Roberts deflected past Clemence for his second own goal of the evening. Burnley were in dream territory.
Roberts' sad night was compounded when Hamilton outpaced him in the last minute to smash a fourth goal past Clemence. Four goals in 25 minutes, a brace for Roberts and Hamilton, Burnley into the last four, all on the back of dismissing their manager in the immediate build-up to the match.
"We threw caution to the wind and deserved what we got," an angry Burkinshaw stated afterwards. "Our central defenders played like novices." Casper was delighted, although he did have one eye on Burnley's plight at the bottom of Division Two. "I'd rather have swapped victory tonight for the points against Barnsley on Saturday."
And what of the man Casper had replaced? "It was a shock to to be told I wasn't going with the team," Miller revealed. "But I was really delighted when I heard about the result and the performance." Burnley would go on to lose 3-1 on aggregate to Liverpool in the semi-final, but in a season to forget from a league point perspective, the cup runs had brought a lot of joy.
Casper did get three points on the Saturday after the win at White Hart Lane, and three wins in Burnley's next four league matches revived hope that the dreaded drop could be avoided. But once the honeymoon period passed, reality kicked back in. Come the end of the season, Burnley would be relegated and Casper's short reign was over.
Burnley went from bad to worse in the next few years, so much so that the club nearly dropped out of the Football League in 1987. However, at least this part of the story had a happy ending for Miller who returned in 1986. Survival was followed a year later by a trip to Wembley for the 1988 Sherpa Van Trophy final. A fitting finale for a man who did so much for the club he loved.
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