Owen Coyle smiled at the suggestion he was on an equal footing with Carlo Ancelotti - managers enjoying a debut season in the Barclays Premier League.

Burnley's Scottish boss knows full well he and his Italian counterpart at Chelsea have vastly different goals.

"There is a huge discrepancy between me and Carlo in terms of budget and everything else that goes with it," said Coyle as he prepared to take his team to Stamford Bridge tomorrow.

"Our priority is to stay in the Premier League, his priority is to win trophies. They are going to be at the business end come May.

"Carlo is a world renowned coach and the great thing for me is I am now coming up against some of the best people in the game.

"There is no doubt he will have his team well drilled, organised and effective. It will be a difficult afternoon."

Not that Burnley will be going there with fear in their hearts. They have already beaten Manchester United and Everton in this their first season in the top flight in 33 years.

Chelsea have also been on the receiving end of that never-say-die spirit instilled in the side by Coyle.

They tumbled out of the Carling Cup on their own patch last November in a penalty shoot-out with goalkeeper Brian Jensen making the decisive save from Jon Obi Mikel's effort.

Burnley went on to reach the semi-finals before winning promotion and Coyle reflected: "There is no doubt the result at Chelsea gave us tremendous impetus for the rest of the season.

"I remember when we were 1-0 down I turned to Sandy Stewart (assistant manager) in the second half and said that no matter how the game finished I would be proud of how positive we had been.

"Then we got a terrific equaliser and went through on penalties. Our fans went crazy and it was a great night."

Coyle will adopt a similar approach in the league, even though vital points are at stake.

He said: "Supporters pay good money after working all week and deserve to be entertained. They want to know their team is giving their best and we will go for it.

"Chelsea are the ultimate dream team, they have such a gifted group of players with a tremendous work ethic.

"In terms of world-class strikers, Drogba and Anelka are up there with the very best. They can also call on Lampard, Terry and Deco.

"But we will not adjust our style. We showed last season we can cause Chelsea problems if our attitude is spot on.

"We are looking forward to being competitive and playing a high-tempo game. It is a big ask but a challenge we are relishing."

Burnley followed up their victory over Everton on Sunday by beating Hartlepool in the Carling Cup in midweek.

Defender Richard Eckersley was sent off in that second round match and will sit out the Chelsea game through suspension.