Burnley captain Steven Caldwell has called for his team-mates to focus on picking up their first away points of the season in Sunday's east Lancashire derby rather than the excitement of the occasion.

The Clarets make the short journey to Blackburn for a 1pm kick-off in what will be the first Barclays Premier League meeting between the two clubs, and the first in the top flight for over 40 years.

A sense of anticipation is building in the region, but with Burnley having suffered four defeats from four on the road so far in the league, Caldwell has emphasised the need for the players to keep calm and concentrate on putting an end to their poor run of form away from home.

"I think everybody should just remember that the most important thing is three points," Caldwell said.

"It is just a game, although a very important one. The three points are more important than any derby, any occasion and we have to go about picking them up.

"We have had four extremely difficult away fixtures where we have conceded sloppy goals at the wrong times but we know we can improve and we are very confident that we will win games away from home. Hopefully that will begin on Sunday."

Caldwell has been trying not to think about the fixture too much over the past week, knowing how important his role as captain will be on the day in keeping a cool head and leading the team by example.

"You have to try to put it out of your mind for a large part of the week because it's too early to get too keyed up," Caldwell said.

"It's important that I'm calm and that everybody sees that. If I'm stressed out and hyper then the lads will probably sense that, so I'll be my usual self.

"I'll go out there and first and foremost play well, defend well myself, and then lead the lads into doing the right things.

"But I'm very lucky in that regard because I have a group of players who are experienced and help me along just as much as I help them, so we're very much a unit.

"It's about being up for it, winning the battle and then having the calmness to actually get the ball down and remember why we are there - to pass it about and score goals.

"Hopefully we can do that and I am very confident that we have the talent to cause Blackburn problems."

After years in the wilderness, Burnley go into tomorrow's match seven places and five points ahead of Blackburn in the Premier League and their fans will be eager to see the club's recent change in fortune underlined with victory over their great rivals at Ewood Park.

Despite animosity between the two sets of supporters, Caldwell believes it will be best for all concerned if both teams have successful seasons.

"Nobody will like me saying this, but I hope both teams can do well, because I like to go to play football in an area which is prospering and doing well," Caldwell said.

"I hope we finish above Blackburn and I hope that we beat them, and the next time we play them.

"But I hope they do well too because it is a great advert for this area of Lancashire.

"We want this derby all the time and I am sure the fans want it all the time because it's a very special game to play in.

"We only care about winning and we only care about ourselves, but when everything is done and dusted, if we are in the Premier League, I personally will be quite pleased if Blackburn are too."