IF Heurelho Gomes needs inspiration in fighting for his future at Tottenham, he need look only as far as the other end at White Hart Lane on Tuesday. In goal for Burnley, in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final, will be Brian Jensen, a Dane who could teach another Prince of Denmark a thing or two about the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

The 33-year-old from Copenhagen has been the hero of the Championship club’s barn-storming progress to the last four, saving two penalties against Chelsea in a run that has also seen off Fulham and Arsenal. The holders, Spurs, would complete a historic set of London victims.

Nobody with a heart could begrudge Jensen his unlikely appearance in the limelight after a career with more ups and downs than Nigel Kennedy’s elbow. Only this season, after nine years in England, has he finally managed to nail the No 1 spot. As recently as last summer Burnley bought a Peruvian international to replace him. Poor Diego Penny endured an X-certificate debut, conceding four against Sheffield Wednesday, and Jensen has been a fixture ever since.

When we met at chilly Turf Moor the large, if not great, Dane squeezed out of a VW Golf with his two boys, Sebastian and Jamie. Mum, a flight attendant for Monarch, had been called in to trolley her way to Tenerife, leaving the harassed dad to look after his “two soldiers”, as he calls them, aged two and four. Jensen gave the interview with one ear tuned to noises off. Few players in the Championship enjoy the pampered lifestyle taken for granted in the Premier League.

Burnley appointed Owen Coyle as manager in November 2007 and last summer paid Scunthorpe £1m (which could rise to £1.3m) to make Martin Paterson his first permanent signing. Another notable arrival was Chris Eagles from Manchester United, for £1.25m. Morale was rising when they overcame Fulham 1-0 in the Carling Cup and they were up to fifth in the Championship when they went to Stamford Bridge in mid-November.

Before discussing such things, a bit of background was needed. Why had Jensen taken so long to come to the fore?

“I started late, at 21,” he explained. “Before that I was playing as an amateur in Denmark and training as an electrician. I qualified in that trade before accepting the chance to turn professional, with AZ Alkmaar, in Holland.” The first step in what he calls his roller-coaster career was a tough one. “When I signed, I was told I would be the first choice but three months later they gave another young keeper a 10-year contract, within six months he was in the Dutch national team and that was me done and dusted.”

Next stop, England. “I went on trial to West Brom. Brian Little brought me over in March 2000. I arrived on the Friday, I was on the bench the following day when we lost 3-0 at home and Brian was sacked on the Monday. I have a lot to thank Brian for but I never got to work with him. I played the last 12 games that season, then the new manager, Gary Megson, brought in Russell Hoult. What could I say? We won 28 games, 23 of them 1-0. It was clean sheet after clean sheet, Russell was brilliant. When somebody is doing that well in your position, you have to take it on the chin.” At the end of 2002-03 Jensen’s contract expired and he was released. “Fortunately, Burnley came in for me. I would have taken anything, anywhere, just to prove West Brom wrong.”

For a long time, the Baggies seemed to have been right. At Turf Moor, Steve Cotterill signed first Danny Coyne and then Hungary’s Gabor Kiraly. When Cotterill left, Owen Coyle took over and brought in Penny. “It has been hard work, competing with three international keepers, but it has paid off in the end,” Jensen said. “I’ve still got Diego and Gabor breathing down my neck, so I need to keep my form going.”

He has done just that, especially throughout the cup run. “We’ve had a bit of luck but we’ve also played well and it has given the whole team a massive boost, which has helped us in the league.” The toughest tie had been Chelsea. “That was a long, hard game, going to penalties, and it was away, whereas Fulham and Arsenal were both at home.

“When we were watching a video of Chelsea, the day before the game, the gaffer broke the ice by saying, ‘Come on lads, they’ve just been beaten, it’s easy to turn them over’. Yeah, they’d lost a couple of weeks earlier – to Liverpool, their first home defeat in 86 games.

“Everybody started laughing and the boss said, ‘For f**** sake, just go out there and enjoy yourselves. You’ve come this far, it will be a great experience you’re never going to have again, make sure you enjoy it’. “ That was how we approached it, and maybe the fact that we were so relaxed is why we did so well. We stood up to them really well and kept them out for 27 minutes, until Drogba scored. We came back and equalised in the second half and after that we always felt we could cause an upset.”

He had approached the shootout with rare insouciance. “As I saw it, there was no pressure. We’d already done ourselves proud in taking Chelsea that far at their place, so although the outcome was massive, I didn’t feel any pressure – even with 40,000 breathing down my neck. I saved their first penalty, from [Wayne] Bridge, and their last, from [John Obi] Mikel, so I was portrayed as the hero but really I think all 14 players we used were heroes. If I was the hero, it was only for 10 minutes, they were heroes for the first two hours.”

Beating Arsenal had been the real eye-opener. Arsène Wenger’s gifted teenagers had swept aside Sheffield United and Wigan and were widely expected to do the same to Burnley. What had happened? “Our game plan was to bully them because they were so young and inexperienced. It worked brilliantly and all credit to the outfield players for that. Everybody was talking about Arsenal’s marvellous youngsters and we beat them.”

Kevin McDonald, a midfielder recruited from Dundee, scored twice and Jensen did the rest, keeping Nicklas Bendtner and company at bay with a string of notable saves. Modestly, he said: “Luck was on my side, and I came out on top in a few one-on-ones.”

Tottenham will be similar, in that Burnley are underdogs again, but different in that it is over two legs. “We are playing a Premier League side with one of the best managers around, who will fire them up. We need to go down there, play well, have a bit of luck because we know there will be times when we’re under the cosh, and bring them back here with a result good enough to leave us in with a shout.

“If we can beat Fulham, Arsenal and Chelsea, why not? We’ll go there with a smile on our faces and be as positive as we can.”

Cue that other Prince of Denmark: “Alas, poor Modric . . .”

Burnley’s giant-killing Carling Cup run

In the third round, crowning a six-match unbeaten run, the Clarets record a 1-0 victory over a strong Fulham team featuring a £10m signing from Everton, Andrew Johnson. The goal is scored by 19-year-old local boy Jay Rodriguez with just two minutes left

They then hold a Chelsea side boasting Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Deco and Salomon Kalou among others to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge after normal and extra time. Keeper Brian Jensen denies Wayne Bridge and John Obi Mikel from the spot to give his side a 5-4 penalty shootout win that takes them through to the last eight

There is more giant-killing as Arsenal are knocked out in the quarter-finals. The Gunners’ inexperienced but dazzling team of youngsters are unable to score at Turf Moor and Kevin McDonald is on target twice to give Burnley victory, setting up a semi-final date with more Premier League opposition, Tottenham, on Tuesday

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