After finishing eighth in Burnley's first season in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in 2010, Clarets supporters are eager for a return to the top flight.

Manager Eddie Howe was geared up for his first full season in charge at Turf Moor, and the return of Chris McCann as well as Martin Paterson and Jay Rodriquez gave the Clarets a boost before the side's new term.

With a big test ahead for the Clarets this season, Sports Mole decided to take a look back at the first half of their campaign.

August

Burnley dropped points in their first fixture on home soil with a tough 2-2 draw with Watford, but managed to progress to the next stage of the Carling Cup with a thrilling 6-3 victory over Burton Albion in their first match of the domestic competition.

Despite a positive start in their cup campaign, the Clarets suffered their first defeat of the season just three matches in when they lost to Crystal Palace.

Despite a mismatched start to Burnley's Championship season, their run in the Carling Cup continued with a 3-2 win over League Two side Barnet.

September

The beginning of the month was disappointing for Howe as the Clarets slumped to two consecutive defeats in the league. As the inconsistency in the Championship continued, Burnley's form in the Carling Cup never wavered as they recorded a win over MK Dons.

The side's big test came when they welcomed league favourites Southampton to Turf Moor and were successful in preventing Nigel Adkins's side from snatching all three points with a 1-1 draw. The Clarets seemed to turn a corner following their match with Southampton as they thrashed Nottingham Forest 5-1 on home turf.

October

The Clarets built on their winning run with a victory at Millwall but relinquished points from narrow 1-0 defeats to Reading and Barnsley. Howe's side managed to improve on their recent negative results with wins over Coventry and Blackpool but crashed out of the Carling Cup quarter-final to Cardiff City.

November

The start of November proved to be torrid for the Championship side, suffering four consecutive defeats in the league. However, Burnley finished the month with two straight wins over Hull City and Ipswich.

December

The Clarets capitalised on their last two victories by snatching three points from Championship title challengers West Ham at Upton Park, but failed to record a fourth consecutive win when they hosted Portsmouth a week later.

Howe's side have taken a positive turn, winning their last two matches and head into the New Year in ninth place in the league table.