STAN Ternent has sounded the rallying cry ahead of tomorrow's lip-smacking Lancashire hot-pot.

The Clarets can head for Preston in confident mood, having won four of the last five clashes against their bitter rivals.

North End may be a tougher nut to crack this time out as they look to build on their recent run of just one defeat in nine games, and sneak into the play-off places.

But Clarets chief Ternent has scotched any talk of a backs-to-the-wall strategy and instead plans to head for Deepdale with all guns blazing.

He said: "It's a massive derby match and one to look forward to. We need to go out and perform, and I want the players to have a chuckle in their boots and have a right good go at it.

"We've been doing alright lately and have only lost one in five, which was very disappointing against Coventry, as we didn't play to our full potential.

"We need to play like we can at Deepdale and, if we play to our full potential, we stand a chance of coming away with a favourable result."

Burnley are almost back to full strength for tomorrow's game, which fans are reminded kicks off at 12.30pm on police advice.

Skipper Graham Branch joined in training on Friday, but remains the the only doubt with a calf strain as Paul Weller and Luke Chadwick both continue to play their way back to full fitness.

Ternent added: "Graham is back with us and we'll have to wait and see if he has any reaction, so we'll leave that until the last minute.

"As for Paul and Luke, the only way they can get fully fit is by playing matches. They are both big players for me and I need them to be fit."

Ternent's threadbare squad is still worryingly short of strength in depth for the busy festive period, despite the recent loan acquisition of Jay McEveley from Blackburn.

But the Clarets chief remains optimistic that the Premiership transfer window, which swings open for 31 days on January 1st, 2004, will open a few more avenues in his endless quest for players.

He added: "You can't legislate for suspensions and we've got another couple coming up on against Stoke on the 28th (Arthur Gnohere and Glen Little).

"Because of things like that I'm always looking to improve on what I've got available and, the way things are that means loans - ideally from the Premiership.

"The transfer window doesn't really effect us, but maybe at the end of it the situation will be different.

"With a run of games managers are reluctant to let players go out, but that might change at the end of the transfer window, when they can see exactly what they've got to play with and might want to move players on for a month or two."

Burnley fans are reminded they cannot pay on the day at Deepdale. The few remaining tickets of the original 3,800 allocation remain on sale at the Burnley ticket office, but fans should contact 0870 443 1914 to check availability.