Burnley’s promotion to the football Premier League will give a “great boost” to the fortunes of local paper the Burnley Express, its editor said today.
The club will return to the top flight of English football next season, for the first time in 33 years, after securing a 1-0 victory against Sheffield United on Sunday afternoon.
The twice-weekly Burnley Express, which is published by Johnston Press, devoted 31 pages to its pre-match coverage on Friday.
Another 14 pages were dedicated to covering the victory this morning and a further 31 pages are being prepared for the Friday edition.
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Editor Chris Daggett told Press Gazette: “This is a great boost for the newspaper.”
Burnley’s victory in the Championship play-off will see the club compete against local rival Blackburn Rovers.
Daggett said he hoped the Express would attract increased circulation in the Blackburn area.
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“We would be looking to pinch some of their readers and fans,” he added.
The Burnley team will receive a heroes’ welcome with an open-top bus tour around the Lancashire town tonight.
They will then be greeted by Burnley mayor John Habour before heading to a champagne reception.
The Tuesday edition of the Burnley Express recorded an average weekly circulation of 10,914 in the last set of ABC circulation figures, covering the second half of 2008.
The paper’s Friday edition sold an average of 16,454 copies.
The Express’s Newsquest-owned rival, the Burnley Citizen, was unavailable for comment.
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