Cort: Clarets won’t hold back against Arsenal

BURNLEY defender Leon Cort says the Clarets will not be holding back on their tackles against Arsenal tomorrow.

Last weekend Arsene Wenger criticised Stoke for an over-physical approach after the 3-1 victory at the Britannia Stadium.

That was prompted by Ryan Shawcross’s challenge on Aaron Ramsey which left the teenager with a double break of his right leg.

However, Cort said neither that tackle nor Wenger’s comments would have any bearing on their approach at the Emirates Stadium.

“We haven’t really spoken about that,” said Cort.

“We are going to go there and still throw tackles in because it is a physical game and we are fighting for our lives.

“I don’t believe anyone goes there to kick them. People know that when they play against Arsenal they have to get in their faces and stop them from playing.

“The only effect it (Ramsey’s injury) will have on them is that they are going to want to win the game for him on Saturday. We just have to be strong and try to get what we can.”

Manager Brian Laws accepts he cannot expect to play Arsenal off the pitch and so his side will adopt a more pragmatic approach.

“What I don’t think we can do is beat them at their own game. We have to play our own game and not try to copy theirs,” he said.

“We can’t play their system so we have to level it up somehow and that is by working harder than them. We just have to make sure our challenges are spot on.”

Laws added: “I think everyone seems to be focusing on the Ramsey scenario – and no-one wishes an injury like that on anyone.

“Arsene Wenger has mentioned the fact and so it gets scrutinised even more but we can’t worry about that as long as we go in there and challenge fairly and be strong.

“People talk about ‘getting in their faces’ and if that is what it takes then that is what we will have to do.

“But you can still tackle well and still tackle with authority and purpose without being dirty or over-the-top.

“I don’t believe any team targets Arsenal. I think he (Wenger) has been hard done-by in losing three players to broken legs in a relatively short space of time. I think he is more angry about that than anything else but I don’t think he can accuse anyone of doing it deliberately.

“Shawcross is a strong tackler but when you look at it there was no malice in it, it was more bad timing.”

Wenger, meanwhile, has challenged his players to win the title for Ramsey.

“He is as low as you can be when this happens to you and you are flying,” Wenger said of Ramsey’s state of mind. “Of course we were all very sad and very down after what happened to him.

“The one thing we can do now is give him all the support it takes. Also this gives us one more reason to fight for the title until the end. We want to do it for him.”

With the Wales international starting his recovery, Wenger is determined to give him all the time he needs.

“It is too far away to set any realistic deadline,” said Wenger. “Let’s let him heal. The good news is the surgery went well and it is not a career-threatening injury. But it is two breaks and to get back to your best you need not only to practice again but you need time to recover your coordination. He is a young boy and he will recover from this but it is a bad injury.”

Stoke manager Tony Pulis confirmed he did not feel Shawcross’ tackle was malicious, the club have decided not to appeal against his three-match ban as they wanted to put an end to the matter as soon as possible.

“I don’t think it is an incident we want to bring up again,” the Potters boss said. “We’ll take our medicine. It was an awkward challenge, not a dirty challenge and there was no vindictiveness. But we’ll take our punishment as I think we have to move on.”

Both Pulis and Shawcross have spoken to Ramsey and received a positive response and there have also been high-level talks between chief executive Tony Scholes and Arsenal in a bid to smooth over relations between the two clubs. In the past Wenger had claimed Stoke players had tried to injure his squad and Saturday’s incident stoked his claims of a conspiracy to target Arsenal.

“We’ve been in contact with Aaron both myself and Ryan and we will continue to do that through his recovery period,” he said.

“It has been smashing, it has not been a problem. I think Tony has spoken to the powers that be at Arsenal but the most important thing here is the kid and it always has been the kid.”

On Wenger’s allegations Pulis added: “We have played Arsenal three times this year and apart from Ryan’s sending-off we haven’t had one player booked.

“That doesn’t sound like a team who go out to injure people. We’re desperately disappointed.”