A NUMBER of Burnley stars had a double target as they played for the reserves, get some much needed fitness and challenge for a place in the 16 for the FA Cup quarter-final against Watford on Sunday.

Paul Weller, Robbie Blake and Glen Little all came off the bench at Millwall on Tuesday night but fewer than 24 hours later they were back in action getting a vital 90 minutes under their belts.

And there was a further boost for manager Stan Ternent with the return to competitive action of skipper Steve Davis, his first run-out since limping off with a knee injury against Rotherham United almost three months ago.

Davis played just over an hour in the holding midfield role that Paul Cook has filled in recent weeks and he eased his way back into action impressively enough, although Sunday's game will probably be just a little too soon.

Ternent has said that the trip to Walsall a week on Saturday is a more likely option for a player he sees as vital to his side.

There is little doubt that the likes of Weller, Blake and Little will be involved in the squad for the Cup clash and the tall winger admitted it was just great for them all to play a full match at last.

"We were all glad to get 90 minutes under the belt for the reserves yesterday afternoon, even after a late night before it," he said.

"We did not get back until 3.30am after the Millwall trip but the club felt that it was better to go up and down in the day rather than have a couple of breaks away before the Cup game.

"But yesterday was important for people like me, Weller and Robbie because we have not been playing much. I could not believe it when I looked back and realised my last full game was against Grimsby in the replay back in January.

"That is about seven weeks ago, Weller was even longer and Robbie has not played much either. It was also great to see the Skip back in action.

"We were all tired but we wanted to play because you have to in order to get full fitness. The games are so important at the moment that you can't play yourself fit in the first team, the manager needs us to be fit before he starts picking us."

Two other first team players to have benefited from a full 90 minutes were French defender Arthur Gnohere, who has been out of the side since the 5-2 defeat by Reading, and versatile defender Mark McGregor who has been used as a late sub by Ternent in a couple of recent games.

In addition, young Greek striker Dimitri Papadopoulos dropped a timely reminder that he is still around and looking sharp with both goals in a 2-0 victory over Oldham Athletic.