Rarely can one of the most historical and ferocious rivalries in world sport have been dismissed so emphatically.

“I’ve been to several All BlacksAustralia games and they are an absolute yawn festival compared to this thing,” Ryan Nelsen, the Blackburn Rovers captain, said when asked to explain the significance of tomorrow’s derby against Burnley.

A throwaway line or an accurate assessment? Given that Nelsen is a native of Christchurch who has attended more than his fair share of clashes between the Antipodean rugby union giants and is one of only five present players from Blackburn and Burnley who have featured in the game that divides East Lancashire, it is, perhaps, wise to take his comparative appraisal at face value. “People south of these towns don’t understand how big it is,” the central defender added.

Outsiders may be surprised at how entrenched the hostility has become between supporters of two of the founder members of the Football League, but police — and everyone else, for that matter — in this part of the North West require no reminders. “The policing operation is across the whole of East Lancashire,” Superintendent Chris Bithell said. “We are mindful the match is on TV. We hope our resources bode well for the confidence of the local communities.”

The lengths to which the Lancashire Constabulary is going in an attempt to keep order before, during and after tomorrow’s 1pm kick-off are extraordinary. The most controversial move will raise eyebrows among civil libertarians, with Burnley supporters travelling to Ewood Park ordered to take coaches from Turf Moor regardless of where they live.

Chris Taylor, a 28-year-old Burnley fan, resides just a four-minute walk from the home of Blackburn and was hoping to stroll to the ground with his grandfather, but the introduction of compulsory coach travel means that he is faced with a 60-mile round trip.

“These arrangements are seen by many as draconian and an infringement on civil liberties,” Peter Pike, the chairman of the Clarets Trust, said.

The police operation is not limited to Blackburn and Burnley, either, with officers also ready to be deployed in nearby Accrington, a border town caught in the crossfire that was once described by Stan Ternent, the former Burnley manager, as “a Berlin Wall of terraced houses, where petty comments can spark full-scale riots”.

Unlike its Merseyside counterpart, it is hard to remember when the East Lancashire derby was anything but a tinder box and such is the weight of anecdotal evidence that it is easy to present a case for the occasional meetings between clubs representing a pair of Lancashire cotton towns as being the most antagonistic local skirmish in English football.

Terry Gennoe, the former Blackburn goalkeeper, certainly believes so. “I was Celtic coach at the Rangers v Celtic game and obviously that is all about religion,” the 56-year-old said. “Southampton v Portsmouth was absolutely horrendous as well, while there is obviously passion in the North East derbies.

“But to my mind there is nothing that compares to the Blackburn-Burnley derby at all. People who are not from the area won’t realise, but the passion and intensity is something different than I have experienced anywhere else.”

Burnley are above their rivals in the Barclays Premier League, a situation that would have been almost unimaginable 18 years ago, when Blackburn fans intruded on a fourth division play-off match with Torquay United at Turf Moor by hiring an aeroplane to fly over the ground carrying a banner bearing the message, “Staying down for 4ever, luv Rovers ha ha ha.”

Legend has it that Simon Garner, the former Blackburn forward, was behind the aerodynamic gloating, but he denies any involvement. “I just wish it was true,” Garner, who claims he was threatened with a knife by a Burnley fan, said. “Whenever people ring me up to talk about Rovers, I am asked about how I arranged that plane to fly over. I didn’t do it, but I know who did.”

Tomorrow is the first time the clubs have met in the top flight since New Year’s Day in 1966 and Burnley are aiming to record their first win over Blackburn for 30 years. History is weighing heavy on all involved and tension is already evident, with graffiti having been daubed on the walls at Turf Moor in retaliation for a statue in honour of Jack Walker at Ewood Park having been targeted by Burnley fans, who dressed the figure in claret and blue.

No wonder Mark Hughes, the former Blackburn manager and veteran of derbies in Manchester, Merseyside, London and Munich, not to mention the El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, once replied, “Good God, that one’s mad,” when asked how the East Lancashire version compared.

Nelsen argues that passions are raised because the Blackburn-Burnley derby is played so rarely. With six meetings in the past three decades, it appears that the absence of this fixture since 2005 has done little to make their rival hearts grow fonder.

“We don’t play as often as other derbies around the country,” the New Zealand international said. “We haven’t played each other for almost five years now.

“It doesn’t come around very often so when it does, it is something the fans really look forward to. You don’t know when you are going to play each other again, whereas other derbies in the country are routine, pretty standard. That is why this one has got more of a special edge. You have to be there and soak it up to get full recognition of what it really means.”

Behind enemy lines

1914 Year Blackburn were crowned champions and Burnley won the FA Cup.

16 Miles from Ewood Park to Turf Moor

36 Blackburn league wins in head-to-heads — Burnley have 33.

Words by Bill Edgar