BURNLEY could have to fight off a move from neighbours Blackburn Rovers for star striker Robbie Blake in the close season.

The 28-year-old striker, who leads the Clarets scoring charts this season with 18 goals, is believed to be a target for Rovers boss Graeme Souness.

The Ewood Park club have reportedly watched Blake, who cost the Clarets £1million when he was bought from Bradford City in January 2002, and could be set to make a £1.5million bid.

Meanwhile, Clarets boss Stan Ternent was to make late checks on his walking wounded before Burnley try to take a giant leap towards safety with victory over Watford today.

The Clarets will look to take the sting out of the Hornets and follow up Saturday's impressive win at Walsall with another priceless three points.

But that victory came at a cost, with several first-teamers undergoing late fitness tests before this afternoon's Turf Moor clash.

Ternent said: "We have a few knocks and bruises that I might have to assess at the last minute.

"Richard Chaplow has a dead leg on his thigh that swelled up rapidly and doesn't look good at all. Paul Weller has got a bit of a hamstring strain and Mark McGregor got a wallop on his foot.

"Injuries like that are always a disappointment, but you are always going to get them when you are playing two games in three days.

"I'll leave it as late as possible, but the one thing I won't do is risk anyone who is not 100 per cent, even if that means putting one or two of the kids on the bench."

Ternent will also check on Dele Adebola, who has missed the last two games with a stomach strain since making his Burnley bow at Bradford recently.

And David May is definitely out of today's showdown as he serves the second of his two-match ban.

However, despite having the fall-out from the weekend, Ternent declared himself "delighted" as Burnley chalked up back-to-back away wins for the first time this season thanks to Robbie Blake's penalty.

He said: "I thought we played very well. We created a lot of chances and some of them were very clear-cut. It took a penalty in the end for us to win the game and at the end we were biting our nails a little when it should have been more comfortable.

"But in the end I'm glad we got the three points because we fully deserved to get them. That hasn't always been the case. Now we have Watford and it will be another tough game and a massive one in terms of the season.

"The three points might well be enough, although I'm still looking for two more wins to get to the 53 point target and be totally sure."