Burnley had established themselves as a second tier football club by the time of the 2002 – 2003 season; however, over the next four years they failed to make the top half of the table as they hovered around the lower part of the table.
They reached the quarter finals of the FA cup in 2003 as they suffered defeat against Watford in the last eight of the cup competition.
They reached the fifth round of the competition in the following two years as they met Milwall in the last sixteen in 2004, suffering defeat against a side that would eventually finish off as runner up. In the 2005 FA Cup, they suffered defeat against Blackburn Rovers in the last sixteen of the competition. They crashed out of the league cup in 2005 as they suffered defeat to Aston Villa. Robbie Blake, Frank Sinclair and Michael Duff were all in outstanding form for the club.