Fabio Celestini accepts his Burnley side faces a desperate fight against relegation.

Saturday’s embarrassing capitulation at Cardiff City leaves the Clarets five points adrift of safety, after winning just one of their first 15 games of the season.

They were well on their way to securing that second win, leading 4-1 after 64 minutes, only to ship four goals in 29 minutes to lose 5-4 in South Wales.

Speaking after the game, Celestini said it’s now time to be a “realist” and admit a fight for survival is now on the cards for a side that were among the favourites for promotion at the start of the campaign.

“Now where we are, we must fight for relegation,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“We must be ready to fight for relegation. We must try and give absolutely everything.

“Now we have two weeks to work very hard. We understand the situation, we understand where we are and we must work very, very hard.

“I think it’s important to say [Burnley are in a relegation scrap]. Maybe until now we never say this and these words, but for us to understand the situation we must be a realist.

“At the moment, where we are in the situation and where we are in the table, it says that. That is the reality. For the players as well as the trainer.

“We must stay together but we must also say it after the game. In this tough moment, maybe we can fight for something different, but right now? Right now? We must be ready to fight for relegation. That we must say to be very clear.

“If you think about something different, you will do a mistake.”