| Season: | 2002–03 |
| League Topscorer: | Gareth Taylor (16) |
| Season Topscorer: | Gareth Taylor (17) |
| Highest Attendance: | 22,034 (vs. Manchester United, 3 December) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 5,436 (vs. Grimsby Town, 14 January) |
| Average Attendance: | 14,200[1] |
| Nextseason: | 2003–04 |
The 2002–03 season was Burnley's 3rd season in the second tier of English football. They were managed by Stan Ternent in his fifth full season since he replaced Chris Waddle at the beginning 1998–99 campaign.
Four straight losses at the beginning of the season saw Burnley bottom of the First Division, before a ten-match unbeaten run lifted the Clarets to the brink of the play-off places. However, that would be as good as it got for the Lancashire club, who spent most of the season hovering in mid-table. A poor finish to the season - 10 losses in the club's final 14 matches - saw them fall to 16th.[2] Burnley's downfall was their poor defence, which was the worst in the league: 5 goals conceded against both Grimsby and Reading, 6 against Rotherham, 7 against Sheffield Wednesday and Watford, and 89 overall, the worst in the First Division and third-worst in the entire Football League.
|}
| Pos | Player | From | Fee | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | GK | Free | 5 September 2002 | ||
| 3 | DF | Free | 10 January 2003 | ||
| Pos | Player | To | Fee | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MF | Released | 24 April 2002 | |||
| MF | Retired | 24 April 2002 | |||
| DF | Released | 24 April 2002 | |||
| GK | Luigi Cennamo | Released | 24 April 2002 | ||
| DF | Retired | 24 April 2002 | |||
| MF | Released | 16 August 2002 | |||
| MF | Free | 16 August 2002 | |||
| 1 | GK | Loan | 28 September 2002 | ||
| 25 | MF | Free | 4 October 2002 | ||
| 32 | DF | Earl Davis | Loan | 26 November 2002 | |
| 17 | FW | Loan | 31 January 2003 | ||
| 32 | DF | Earl Davis | Loan | 7 March 2003 | |
| 20 | MF | Loan | 15 March 2003 | ||
| 7 | MF | Loan | 1 April 2003 | ||