Burnley went into the 2012-13 season having finished eighth in the Championship the previous year and were seen as an outside tip for promotion.
Over the summer manager Eddie Howe moved to bring in players used to the Championship, including Sam Vokes from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Jason Shackell from Derby County, who was made club captain.
A number of players were released and key striker Jay Rodriguez was sold to Premier League side Southampton. Charlie Austin, bought the season before, remained at the club to play a pivotal role in the first half of the season.
After the first half of the Championship season, Sports Mole takes a look at Burnley's progress so far.
August
August started off very well for the Clarets with a 2-0 home win to local rivals Bolton Wanderers following a first-round League Cup win away to Port Vale.
However, the league form took a sudden hit with a late 3-2 defeat at Middlesbrough followed by a 2-0 loss at Huddersfield Town.
The last game of the month saw Burnley qualify for the third round of the League Cup as they edged out Plymouth Argyle 3-2 on penalties.
September
September 1 saw Burnley's third straight league defeat, this time being comprehensively outplayed at home to Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1, but a two-week break did them a lot of good as they recovered to smash Peterborough United 5-2 with an Austin hat-trick.
A 2-1 defeat at Leicester was followed by a win by the same margin at Derby County and another two goals for Austin.
The month ended with defeat in the League Cup to League One Swindon Town and a home draw with Millwall, leaving the Clarets below where they were hoping to be in 16th.
October
Howe oversaw two high-scoring games to start October: another Austin hat-trick in a 3-3 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday before they went down 4-3 at Crystal Palace.
They remained 16th but then news came out on October 12 that, due to "personal reasons", Howe was returning to manage Bournemouth, leaving Burnley needing a new manager.
Terry Pashley was put in temporary charge and led Burnley to two wins and a defeat. They beat Blackpool 1-0, thrillingly overcame Bristol City at Ashton Gate thanks to a 96th-minute Chris McCann winner and were soundly beaten 4-0 by Cardiff City.
Sean Dyche was confirmed as the new manager at the end of the month to take charge of the next game at home to Wolves with Burnley in 14th.
November
Things started well for Dyche, immediately managing to shore up a leaky defence with two clean sheets in home wins over Wolves and Leeds United.
They then lost 2-1 late on at Portman Road against a Mick McCarthy-inspired Ipswich Town and went down 1-0 at home to Charlton.
A narrow 1-0 victory at Hull City and a battling 1-1 draw at Barnsley saw the month end on a higher note for Dyche, with the Clarets now 14th in the Championship.
Dyche decided to stick with the squad left to him by Howe, opting against dipping into the loan or free-transfer markets.
December
The win at Hull on November 24 would be the last time Burnley tasted victory until Boxing Day.
A last-gasp Vokes equaliser felt like a win for Burnley against bitter rivals Blackburn Rovers in front of a packed Turf Moor, but they could only follow this up with defeat to Nottingham Forest.
There was still time for two more Austin goals - a penalty in a 1-1 draw at home to Watford and the opener in the 2-0 win over Derby, completing the double over the Rams.
This win leaves Burnley looking up the Championship table in 13th, just four points from the playoff places. Only Glenn Murray of Palace scored more goals (20) than Austin (19) in the league during the first half of the season.
Matt Domm
