BURNLEY defender David May has heaped generous praise on his defensive partner Mark McGregor.

The pairing has started just a handful of games together at the heart of the Clarets back line, since McGregor made a stunning recovery from summer knee surgery.

But already the flood of goals that blighted the first half of Burnley's league season appears to have been halted, with just two conceded in the last four games.

And May is confident of keeping that impressive mean streak going to frustrate play-off chasing Wigan at the JJB Stadium this weekend.

The former Manchester United ace said: "Mark and I work well together and we talk well together.

"Communication is a big thing and I've said to him that in the last few games we've done well, but now we've got to build on it.

"I've genuinely been surprised how good Mark is - especially in the air. I thought he may struggle there with his size, but to be fair, he's fantastic.

"He reads the game well, he's strong and just a total out-and-out defender who is a pleasure to play with."

May and McGregor were first thrown together at Sunderland in late November - and instantly dove-tailed to help the Clarets earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw.

They were re-united in early January, keeping free-scoring Mansfield at bay in the FA Cup third round and following that up with another clean sheet at Crystal Palace.

May's rare mistake against West Brom 11 days ago led to the only other league goal of their partnership being conceded.

And the duo bounced back with a rock solid display in last weekend's FA Cup win over Gillingham, restricting the Kent side to a late consolation goal.

That solidity is in stark contrast to earlier this season, when manager Stan Ternent hunted for a partnership to stem a growing 'goals against' column.

May, 33, added: "I made a mistake against West Brom and I accept that. If we can cut out these little mistakes then we'll have a really good partnership that can take us places.

"I don't care how small the squad is here - if the players are good enough, which we are, then we have a good chance of doing well.

"In another season, we would be right up there with the best of them because there's not another team we've played this season we have thought could hold their own in the Premiership.

"All the teams we've played, we've given a game and either could have won it or got something out of it.

"So it's disappointing at the moment, but we've got to stick at it as we're all in it together."

Meanwhile, Clarets striker Robbie Blake was today lying in third place in the race to become the FA Cup Player of the Round.

Blake, who scored two superb goals in last weekend's fourth round victory over Gillingham, currently has just over 23 per cent of the vote.

Liverpool midfielder Bruno Cheyrou is the current leader with more than 44 per cent, with Swansea goalkeeper Roger Freestone second with 32 per cent.

Fans have until Friday afternoon to register their vote at www.thefa.com

Burnley Reserves return to action tonight in a mini-derby. The Clarets second string entertain local rivals Preston North End at Turf Moor, kick off 7pm. Heating on the pitch has been on all night, and the game is expected to go ahead.