NEVER mind the quality, feel the relief.

That was the emotion flowing at Turf Moor after the Clarets finally got back to winning ways at relegation-haunted Rotherham United's expense.

The last month has seen Burnley's bubble finally burst on several fronts. A financially rewarding FA Cup run ended up leaving supporters deflated at the narrowest of defeats to their bitterest rivals.

Meanwhile, the sheer volume of games played has undoubtedly taken its toll on the league form, with wins increasingly difficult to come by.

So the first victory in six Championship games is especially welcome; even more so since it takes Steve Cotterill's men to within touching distance of their pre-season target - 50 points.

As the manager himself later admitted, 99 per cent of fans would surely have been happy with that come May.

But with 10 games and two months of the season still to go, the significance of hitting the half-century so soon means that the Clarets can now play out their remaining matches free of pressure.

Where that can take this team is anyone's guess, but judging by the way Cotterill's side have equipped themselves since the first ball was kicked in earnest last August, there's every reason to think it will be onwards and upwards.

Whether the rarefied air of the play-off places can still be reached remains a moot issue.

An eight-point gap and the sheer number of teams still above them make it doubly difficult.

But with new striker Ade Akinbiyi ready to make amends when his three-match ban ends next weekend and livewire young striker Dean Bowditch showing enough on his debut against the Millers to guarantee he will be a quality addition, there may yet be an explosive end to a slow-burning campaign.

The ammunition is certainly in place for a gung-ho charge - especially with Tony Grant scoring his second goal in a matter of weeks and Frank Sinclair finally ending a season-long wait to hit the bull's eye.

And with not one of Burnley's 10 remaining opponents lying higher than seventh - and six still below them in the table, anything is yet possible.

They will certainly have to play better than last Saturday to make that charge, but if three points can be gleaned from such a staccato showing, there certainly shouldn't be anything to fear when the inevitable smoother performances flow.

Perhaps, as Cotterill hinted, there was a weighty expectation on Burnley to deliver against the Millers, who had lost their last four games, not won in eight and failed to win a single league game on a Saturday all season.

And that weight was added to when, in the fourth minute, Alan Knill's side snatched a surprise lead.

Burnley were caught napping as Paul McLaren played a short corner routine with Jamal Campbell-Ryce and crossed for Phil Gilchrist to head his first goal for the Millers.

But with Bowditch looking particularly lively in the opening stages, and Jean-Louis Valois pushed up front in an attack-minded starting line-up, it was no surprise when the Clarets quickly carved out chances of their own.

Micah Hyde, so impressive in recent weeks, will have been disappointed to balloon a half volley over the angle.

However, supporters did not have to wait long for the inevitable equaliser, which followed the move of the match.

John Oster kick-started things by cutting into midfield from the right and switching play to Valois on the left.

He, in turn fed the overlapping Mo Camara - back from suspension - who swung over a delicious ball to the near post.

Bowditch managed to get a connection and the ball fell perfectly for Oster, now at the back post, to dummy Leandre Griffit and roll it back to Grant, who made no mistake from eight yards.

The former Everton midfielder recently went over 100 games between goals for the Clarets, but following his recent strike at Crewe he has now amazingly managed two in a single season for the first time in his career!

That eased any lingering nerves and, within two minutes, Burnley went ahead - again from an unlikely source.

Oster, who was at the heart of everything good all afternoon, tried to feed Sinclair on the overlap only to see the ball hacked out for a corner.

However, the reprieve was short-lived and when Oster finally found his man from the flag kick, Sinclair's powerful header smacked the bar and bounced over the line for his first competitive goal since September 2003.

Only 13 minutes had elapsed and a goal-fest looked a real possibility, especially when another flowing three-man move ended with Sinclair angling a ball across the six-yard box and just beyond Bowditch.

However, two let-offs quickly followed, first when a rare John McGreal mistake sent Will Hoskins clear only for Brian Jensen to make a smart save.

Then, when the Dane was beaten all ends-up by Paul Hurst's floated free kick, the post came to the rescue.

The game then degenerated into a real mish-mash of misplaced passes and precious few chances.

Gary Cahill came close to securing the win with a looping header from Oster's drive that keeper Mike Pollitt clawed over the angle.

Cotterill then had the rare luxury of using three experienced substitutes as the clock ticked down - Peter Whittingham, Bowditch and Valois being replaced by Graham Branch, Michael Duff and Ian Moore respectively.

But it still needed a smart save from Jensen to deny Gilchrist in stoppage time and send the Burnley fans home relieved, but also happy.