Burns: The Highest Level of Championship Football You’ll See
Tuesday, 28th Apr 2026 23:30 by Kallum Brisset
Wes Burns felt Town’s thrilling 2-2 draw with Southampton was perhaps the Blues’ best performance of the season and has full confidence in claiming promotion to the Premier League.
Jack Clarke struck a late equaliser to earn the share of the spoils during a dramatic encounter at St Mary’s, but a point was not enough to prevent Town needing to beat Queens Park Rangers on Saturday to guarantee a spot back in the top flight next season.
In what was a must-win game for the Saints to keep their own hopes of a top-two finish alive, both sides led and shared the four goals in the second half in a clash that swung back and forth.
Burns, who struck the opener on what was his first start since returning from a calf injury, believes the battle on the south coast was a top advert for the Championship.
“It’s a bit of a rollercoaster game,” he said. “Both teams knew coming into it that a draw was a bit of a nothing result, so it was evidence of two teams that wanted to go and win the game.
“In my opinion, I think tonight is probably the highest level of a Championship football game that you’ll see. You’ve got two outstanding teams in terms of starting XI and squad depths.
“It wasn’t the result that either team wanted, but the performance that we gave tonight was a really solid, confident one. If we take that into Saturday, I think we’ll be fine.
“When we went 1-0 up, there was a period of five to 10 minutes where they really got on top of us and we probably didn’t manage that as well as we could. They needed to win, so they were always going to come out and give it everything after we go 1-0 up and we could probably manage that moment in the game a little bit better.
“When we went 2-1 down, the character and resilience is something that the squad can be really proud of. To come back from that moment when we’re 2-1 down in their stadium in front of their fans when the place is rocking, it’s easy to go under in that moment.
“The last 20 to 25 minutes, we were by far the better team and probably the only team that looked like they were going to win it. We’ve had countless chances towards the end, Jack Clarke’s had a couple of chances and the keeper pulls off an unbelievable save right at the end where, on another day, we’d have taken all three points and won it 3-2.
“The lads can be super proud of the second-half performance after going 2-1 down.”
Burns is one of the longest-serving members of the Blues squad and is coming to the end of his fifth season at Portman Road having already played his part in two previous promotions.
The popular wideman always seems to be the man for the big moment, a role he says he relishes.
He said: “I’ve had some really good moments since coming back from my injury. I’ve had a little bit of rotten luck with various things since coming back, but that’s football and it’s part of the journey.
“I’m just glad to be able to contribute in any way I can this year. To score in front of our travelling fans and get the reception that they always give me is always a special feeling for me.
“When the big games come, you always look to somebody to step up in those moments and for some reason it always seems to be me over recent years.
“I like to take the pressure on and maybe take a little bit of pressure off others to let them thrive a little bit. I’m glad that I can always help in any way that I can.”
With Town needing three points prior to Tuesday evening, a point did little in the grand scheme of things with the Blues now under pressure to get the job done on home soil this weekend.
Southampton are still yet to taste defeat in the league since January, a run that has now extended to 18 matches, and Burns says the performance against the Saints is a huge boost of confidence.
“You’ve got to look at it as a positive in the overall,” he said. “These are on an incredible run, they’re probably the most in-form team in the league.
“They’re coming off the back of an incredible cup run as well and the confidence is high. They’re going into every game knowing that they’re going to win.
“For us to come back from it in the way we did and give the performance that we did is perfect, and it sets us up amazingly for Saturday.
“I felt more relaxed tonight than I did in previous games when we’ve probably not been at it as much. I had no real doubt after the reaction that we got at 2-1 down, I saw how the lads reacted to that.
“I was a lot more calm in the stand, I felt like we were the only team that were going to go and win it once we got the equaliser. I was a lot more calm tonight than I was maybe watching the Charlton game.”
On the emotions of manager Kieran McKenna, Burns added: “I think he hides it very well on the touchline. He’s very cool and relaxed when it’s crunch time.
“A lot of what I’ve just said is an echo of what the boss said to us in the dressing room. We’ve come here tonight and played probably the best performance of the season against probably the most in-form team in the league.
“He just said when you’re coming into big games like this, the squad depth and everyone being ready to step up. I think we showed that tonight, and the boss just said as long as we continue that into Saturday, we’ll be fine.”
Photo: TWTD
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