THE journey has been long, eventful and, at times, Steve Cotterill must have thought the dark tunnel he was travelling down showed no sign of ending.

But finally, the battle-hardened Burnley boss feels he is emerging into the light.

After a season of juggling a paper-thin squad, while carrying the burden of expectation squarely on his shoulders, the burden is lifting.

And with cash in the bank, Ade Akinbiyi on board and a head buzzing with plans for the future, Cotterill gets the feeling a snowball effect is finally gathering pace at Turf Moor.

"The gauge of how a season has gone is if it drags, usually for the wrong reasons," said Cotterill, who admits this season has been his toughest in management.

" But now there are days when we can get our heads out of the sand and we just have to make sure now that we finish the season off properly.

"The remit at the start of the season was to stay in the Championship and have a cup run. In our wildest dreams I wouldn't have put us down for the cup runs we've had because of there size of our squad.

"Now I look at the situation and I still don't know if, for all the hard work, that's been done all the way back to June, whether that's it or if there's a bit more to come.

"After playing Sunderland there are no other cup games, but lots of good Championship games and you just wonder where's it all going.

"I'd like to say that if we make a late run of it, we might sneak in the play offs.

I just think we're in a bit of limbo at the moment, but I told the lads the other night that this is where it begins for me.

"It's a good time to look at your players and ask what they are made of and then I feel you find the tough ones. The ones that perform between now and the end of the season are going to be the mentally tough ones that will carry on playing exactly the way they did when everything was riding on things, so it will be interesting."

The odds are stacked against Burnley, who are among the tail-enders in the play-off race and would have to average around two points per game in their remaining 13 league outings to get somewhere near the 70-plus points needed to stand a chance.

However, Iain Dowie's Crystal Palace came from nowhere last season to snatch sixth spot and ultimately a coveted place in the Premiership.

And with Burnley having games in hand on many teams above them and three home games in a week, starting with tonight's visit of title chasing Sunderland, a similar opportunity is there to be grabbed.

Victory against the Black Cats would put the Clarets back into the top half of the table, with just West Ham above them still to visit Turf Moor. Trips to struggling Gillingham and Nottingham Forest then offer yet more opportunities to make that late charge.

Akinbiyi's presence could yet be a crucial factor if the powerful striker hits the ground running to improver the goals for column.

And with the ball well and truly rolling, Cotterill admits he has not yet ruled out several other "cheeky" bids to bolster his squad for one last push.

He added: "We didn't do too badly in terms of attracting players after where we finished last season, and obviously the better you do, the more successful you are.

"We managed to sign Ade when there were other teams after him and having the players we've got at the club now will help to attract other good players."

Naturally, Cotterill is hoping supporters will share in his vision for the future. The Burnley boss was blown away by the level of support shown in the last six games, five of which were away from Turf Moor, culminating in 7,000 Clarets fans standing to applaud their heroes off the pitch following the agonising FA Cup defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night.

And he is calling for that same level of passion to help lift his leg-weary side in tonight's crunch clash.

Obviously we are pleased to be back at home and I'd definitely like those 7,000 to make sure they're here," said Cotterill.

"I know the crowd say they need the players to get them going, but over the next few games we might need the crowd to get us going. Don't forget, the players are human who get tired and need a lift, so we're looking for the crowd to be right behind the players tonight."