NIK Michopoulos is out of contract in the summer but has admitted: "I would love to stay at the club - I love Burnley."

The 33-year-old Greek international returned to the side for the first time in a couple of months when he kept a clean sheet in the victory against Preston North End, and he confessed: "It is great to be back in the side.

"I am very happy because I have always kept working hard to try to be the best player that I can.

"Now this is a very good chance for me, there are six games left in the season and I will try to play in them all. It has been a difficult season for me but I have never stopped working hard because I wanted to be ready to come back into the team.

"Because I am out of contract in the summer it is important to play so that I can show what I can do.

"I really want to stay at Burnley because I love the club and I love the town. But that is not a decision for me, that will be a decision for the manager at the end of the season. But even if I don't stay at Burnley I definitely want to stay in England, I am not ready to go back to Greece.

"This season I went on loan to Crystal Palace and worked with another manager, Trevor Francis, I enjoyed it there and made good friends."

Ternent has both his keepers out of contract in the summer and, given the financial constraints at the club, it remains to be seen whether he can afford to carry two players with strong claims to be the number one.

Last season he started with Michopoulos in goal and his fellow Greek Luigi Cennamo as back-up, but often not even on the bench.

Michopoulos, who won his last caps last summer in a couple of end of season friendlies, is back in the side because of the dip in form suffered by Beresford during recent weeks.

But as a full paid-up member of the goalkeepers' union, he has plenty of sympathy for his friend and rival.

"I know it has been difficult for Marlon in recent weeks but that happens to any keeper," he said. "It has happened to me and it is just one of those things that you have to accept.

"But Marlon said good luck to me before the game the other night and I really want to thank him for that."

It was a good night for the Greek stars at Turf Moor because 21-year-old striker Dimitri Papadopoulos was also back in the starting line-up and he got his name on the scoresheet for the sixth time this season.

"I was very pleased for Dimi, he took his goal well," he said.

Papadopoulos still has another year left on his contract with Burnley and Ternent is predicting big things from him next year.

With just half a dozen games to go this season, it remains to be seen whether his fellow Greek will also still be around.

But he will be between the sticks at Norwich tomorrow when Paul Crichton, the man he replaced at Turf Moor, will be on the home bench. "It will be good to see Crichts," he smiled.

Michopoulos has had enough of that bench role himself this season and he now wants to persuade Ternent that he is a safe pair of hands for the rest of this season and beyond.