There can seldom have been a more stark contrast of how to approach life in the Premier League than last weekend’s relegated sides.

While a team from East Lancashire, who appear to now be called ‘brave battling Burnley’ went down fighting with a 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Hull City which ultimately failed to save them, Queens Park Rangers capitulated is the most desultory fashion with a 6-0 defeat away to Manchester City.

A lot has been said about the ‘bad eggs’ – highlighted by that paragon of virtue Joey Barton – in the London Hoops dressing room.

Certainly there was no doubt that rather than fighting for their lives at Eastlands, the Rangers players rolled over and had their tummies tickled as Manuel Pellegrini’s side put on an end-of-season exhibition.

However, you have to look at the environment that has been provided at Loftus Road – which looks particularly scary when compared to the approach of their new fellow Championship rivals at Turf Moor.

To deal with Burnley’s case first, from the moment they were promoted at the end of last season the Clarets made no bones about the fact that money would not be thrown at the squad.

The move firstly gave a huge signal to the players who had earned them top flight status that they would be given a chance to show their worth.

By empowering their personnel this way Burnley, and their shrewd boss Sean Dyche, have repeatedly gained morale-boosting results out of their team – Manchester City fans particularly can vouch for that fact.

And secondly the Clarets seem to have accepted that the tag of ‘yo-yo club’ doesn’t have to be seen in a disparaging light and that sometime soon they will have built the squad and infrastructure at the club to make top flight status stick.

There is also the added bonus for Burnley that as long as they are doing better than Blackburn Rovers everything in the garden is rosy.

Perhaps being surrounded by competition for supporters the need to be a top flight team is more pressing for Rangers.

Champions Chelsea are their arch-rivals, next season’s Championship rivals Fulham have enjoyed their own tenures in the top flight and there is still a chance that they will be surpassed by another West London club should Brentford find a way to turn over a 2-1 deficit at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium in the Championship play-offs on Friday night.

However, while Burnley look set to keep their manager and the majority of their thriftily acquired squad, Rangers have spent a small fortune to bring together a motley crew that potentially could vanish completely by the start of next season.

With the eighth highest wage bill in the Premier League this season, Rangers have spent heavily on players and now face the possibility of Financial Fair Play sanctions just when they might have to rebuild completely.

Of the Rangers current squad Barton, Clint Hill, Rio Ferdinand, Bobby Zamora, Richard Dunne, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Karl Henry, Alejandro Faurlin, Brian Murphy and Darnell Furlong are all out of contract.

A further four players – Nico Kranjcar, Mauricio Isla, Eduardo Vargas and Mauro Zarate – were on loans that will finish at the end of the season.

So that is 14 down before even considering what QPR may have to do to put some cash in the coffers to build a squad.

For a start 17-goal striker Charlie Austin will be a target for top flight clubs, former England goalkeeper Rob Green has stood between Rangers and a more rapid exit from the Premier League with his performances this season and will also probably attract offers and Scotland international winger Matt Phillips will be another of interest.

And while centre back Steven Caulker and Dutch midfielder Leroy Fer come tainted with back-to-back relegations – with the Citys of Cardiff and Norwich respectively – they would also provide potential sales to top flight clubs.

So that is 19 down and it would be hard not to imagine that Rangers might well be prepared to move on the likes of Armand Traore, Samba Diakite, Junior Hoilett, Sandro, Nedum Onuoha and Adel Taarabt.

The inability of Moroccan star Taarabt to get fit this season has truly frustrated both former Rangers boss Harry Redknapp and his successor Chris Ramsey – who let’s face it is the one person in this whole farce that you have to feel really sorry for!

In total there are 25 players who one way or another could well depart Loftus Road this summer.

There are those who say you have to speculate to accumulate.

Burnley obviously think differently, while Queens Park Rangers may be left with no option but to think differently.

Whatever your opinion of Kevin Pietersen, you cannot question his timing.

The man who is essentially cricketing Marmite – you love him or hate him etc, etc – smashed 355 not out for Surrey hitting 15 sixes and 36 fours yesterday.

And the 34-year-old from Pietermaritzburg chose to produce this feat just days after England dispensed with the services of coach Peter Moores – the duo would not have been easily reconciled had Pietersen been returned to the England squad by the selectors.

However, while Pietersen’s feat has grabbed the headlines, it has not been enough to earn him an England Test recall to face the New Zealanders later this month or for this summer’s Ashes.

However, the way things are shaping up I would suggest a different tactic to KP.

He should make a call to Geoff Boycott and get himself some lessons – not in batting but in the art of Yorkshire accents and dialects.

Given that there is every chance that the England squad will be made up of the Yorkshire team – let’s face nearly every last one of them who qualify has been called up for England for some team or other over the past 18 months – with the Tykes coach Jason Gillespie at their helm.

KP’s best chance of sneaking in could be by mastering a strong Cudworth twang.