THE Clarets begin a run of five successive home games against Leicester City tonight and midfielder Paul Weller said: "Let's hope this is the launch-pad for the rest of the season.

"We can't afford to let the season die."

And Weller admitted that manager Stan Ternent was right to give them a dressing down after defeat at Walsall and he explained: "You could say he had a go.

"But we all know what we performed like and we have got to go out and be better against Leicester. We know that we have let ourselves down in the last few games and have got to get back to winning matches."

Weller has started the last two games after injury problems dating back to the start of the year when he limped off with a calf strain at Grimsby in the FA Cup.

And he is as mystified as everyone else as to why it has all gone so wrong in the past few games.

"On Saturday the first 25 minutes went very well," he said. "Then we let a silly goal in and it was here we go again."

Three successive defeats have taken their toll on the confidence of the players and Weller admitted: "During the week everyone has been down. We felt it was a great opportunity to do well in the Cup because Watford away was not the hardest match.

"Then we went to Sheffield with the rivalry between the teams and the managers and we let ourselves down again."

But despite the triple setback Weller has insisted that there is still a belief that something can be salvaged from a season that has seen so many contrasting highs and lows with a place in the play-offs still the target.

"We know it's on," he vowed. "The manager has told us to target a certain number of points but we know we can only take one game at a time.

"But if we can win our next five home games, anything can happen. We do finish the season strongly normally and we want to have something to play for."

Weller felt stronger on Saturday having benefited from playing a full 90 minutes against the Blades and he said: "I was quite pleased with Saturday.

"We were playing a high tempo and I had come on, I have been feeling stronger each game. I felt awful on Thursday and Friday last week but I felt fresh on Saturday. The lads have had a lot of big games but I should be fresh having been out."

Weller is under no illusion about the size of the task facing the Clarets tonight as he explained: "We have been through their team and they have got a lot of big players.

"But we have got players who like it on the floor and that can upset bigger sides. We did very well down there and on the big games this season we have often managed to rise to the occasion."

The Clarets are going for the double tonight and Weller knows that anything other than a win will leave them a mountain to climb towards the top six.

He is just hoping that wounded pride will ensure that the result is the one that they want.