GARETH Taylor admits he would rather be warming the bench than facing Burnley tonight.

The Welsh striker, a substitute last Saturday after overcoming his eye injury, gets to make his full Forest debut following the horrific broken leg David Johnson suffered over the weekend.

And Taylor, who only left Turf Moor last month, admits the circumstances surrounding his dramatic return have left him saddened.

He said: "It was a big blow for David to go down like that and we are definitely going to miss him.

"You have got to be open-minded when you are on the bench and you have got to be prepared to go on at any time, but you don't want to get on in those circumstances."

However, Taylor added: "Obviously when I moved, Burnley was the first game I looked at and I'm really looking forward to the game.

"They will be very organised and very well disciplined and they will go all out to be as tight as possible at the back.

"They have got a lot of talented players in the team and, if they are on song, it will make it a very difficult game for us.

"But our confidence is very high at the moment and we now have to take that into the away games after some excellent performances at home."

Clarets boss Stan Ternent is also saddened by Johnson's break, which will rule the former Burnley loan signing out until at least the New Year.

And Ternent expects the Turf Moor crowd to give Taylor the rapturous reception he deserves for over two years sterling service.

He said: "The one thing about David is he will recover from his injury because he is a tough lad.

"I've been trying to get in touch with him but perhaps he's still in hospital, but it's really unfortunate because he's just signed a new contract and was flying. He will be a big miss for them.

"Now we have Gareth coming back and he should get a good reception from the fans and he deserves it.

"He was a fantastic player for us and unfortunately we had to move him on. We wish him well after tonight, because he's a fantastic lad as well and I look forward to seeing him."

Forest midfielder Michael Stewart will be less hopeful of receiving a warm reception. The Scottish youngster snubbed the Clarets in favour of an 11th hour switch to the City Ground this summer.

But Ternent admits he will be disappointed if Burnley fans turn on the Manchester United midfielder following his decision to spend a season at Forest.

He said: "Michael is a nice lad and a very good player and there's no reason why he should get a mixed reaction.

"He decided he wanted to go to Forest and he's entitled to do that. He has friends there in Chris Doig and Gareth Williams from the Scottish U21s and it will be nice to see him as well."