Benali: The day I was heading into Burnley was quite eventful in many ways

OFTEN when we face opposing teams now, my mind reflects back on all of the clubs that I visited during my challenges. Today's opponents, Burnley, remind me of my first challenge when I was running to all the Premier League stadiums. The day I was heading into Burnley was quite eventful in many ways.

I remember there was a problem with one of the support vehicles. The hills were so steep that, although I wasn’t sprinting up them in 2014, one of the vehicles driving slowly alongside me burnt out its clutch. We could all smell the horrendous burning, and then suddenly, the car bunny hopped then stopped.



My family and support team had had to sort out the repairs. I was left to run alone for the last part of the day, which was not ideal. Heading into Burnley, the scenery on the hills was stunning.

I passed a house with a pen of black Labrador puppies in the front garden, which made me feel even more homesick. Seeing them reminded me of our beloved black Labrador, Ben. I stopped briefly to fuss over them through the fence before continuing my journey into Burnley.

Franny Benali and family pictured with Ben in 2014 Later, I met up with my former teammate and Saints hero, James Beattie, who was then the Accrington Stanley manager. He ran with me for a few miles into Burnley, where we were greeted by another future Saints connection - Danny Ings. At the time, Danny was playing for Burnley before his move to Southampton, but it was great to have that familiar link after he welcomed us to the club.

Following a couple of interviews and an ice bath to kick-start my recovery, it was time to refuel. By that stage of the challenge, I was struggling to eat properly and consume enough calories. I had passed a fast-food outlet earlier in the day and craved some comfort food, so it was agreed I was allowed to have a KFC that night! We have fond memories of sitting around a table piled high with chicken, just enjoying the moment as a family and polishing a lot of it off with Beatts.

It was exactly what I needed before heading off for some rest. The next day, I returned to Burnley, the finish point from the day before, and met up with my former apprentice teammate, Steve Davis, who had captained Burnley for many years. It was fantastic to have so many Saints connections on that particular day.

Whenever we come up against these clubs in the fixture list, I reflect on the memories of running into their stadiums during my challenges. Franny Benali's feet were swollen after the run Burnley were incredibly supportive of what we were doing, and those conversations with Beatts on the way in were brilliant. Seeing Danny was great too, and the club really welcomed us.

After Danny had joined Saints I met him again and thanked him again for when he welcomed us. He remembered it and we were both saying how pleased we were that he was now at Southampton. Looking ahead to today's game, it’s a huge opportunity to progress in this magical cup competition.

I have fond memories of our FA Cup final run in 2003, going all the way to Cardiff, playing a couple games against Millwall after Wayne Bridge picked up an injury. These one-off games always have so much at stake. After last week’s brilliant away result against Ipswich, we have a fantastic opportunity to put back-to-back wins together in what will be a crucial stretch of games.

Following Burnley, we face two South Coast opponents - Bournemouth and Brighton - games that could shape the rest of our season and our survival bid in the Premier League. Three massive home matches start today against Burnley. A win could set us up brilliantly for another two positive results in the coming weeks.

Up the Saints, Franny Benali..