Star Little lets them have it!

On Saturday he finally opened his account for this campaign with the solitary goal in a hard-fought but thoroughly deserved win that extended the Clarets' unbeaten run to seven games.

Manager Stan Ternent is hoping that it will be the first of many.

Last season, like the rest of the team, Little was on fire before Christmas. That was when the majority of his ten goals were scored with memorable braces on trips to Bradford and Birmingham.

Right foot, left foot, it did not matter but in the first half his shooting boots were left in the dressing room and a barn door would have been safe.

Once again his ability to link up with Robbie Blake and Dean West down the right flank looked to be the most likely source of joy for Burnley.

Before the break Blake saw one shot saved after a good move and Little missed three presentable chances, all on his more favoured right side. In fairness one was blocked but the other two efforts were high, wide and anything but handsome. He even went close with a header from a Blake cross in the opening minutes, Kelvin Davis denying him from point blank range.

But six minutes into the second half another good move offered him the chance to find the net, this time with his left peg.

He had been involved in the build up and when Lee Briscoe was released down the left he moved into the box. As Alan Moore cleverly stepped over the ball Little was on hand to sweep the ball into the net beyond Davis.

"Glen was in a position to score two or three and he will come back to being the player he was last year," said Ternent. "He has been carrying a virus and not quite been at it.

"The standards he has set for himself makes it difficult for him to maintain them. But he is still a class act and he showed some exciting stuff."

In fact twice in the second half he forced saves from the keeper, once with a lovely left foot curler that forced Davis to tip the ball behind.

"We gave him the ball and we like to give gifts away," moaned Dons boss Stuart Murdoch, who was far from happy with the way the winner was conceded.

But the fact is if it had not been for his keeper it would have been over long before half time. He was

at fault with a high profile error at Portsmouth a couple of weeks ago and had a tough time in this fixture last season. He put that behind him in the first half, denying Blake, Little and Briscoe.

His former Luton team mate and namesake Steve Davis was back in the Burnley side after his very own horror show last week and there was never any chance of him repeating the error that cost two points at Bradford City.

If ever he did find himself in a tight corner he wisely adopted the Peter Kay tactic. All that was missing was a collective cry of "HAVE IT" as the ball went up the pitch or into the stand.

"He still needs some games but he played well today," said Ternent, who switched Arthur Gnohere to left back to accommodate him.

"Arthur did pretty well against their outside right," he said, but that did not stop him giving him a couple of verbal volleys in the closing minutes as it got a little bit hairy.

The legacy of the late goal for Bradford looks certain to be short fingernails for Clarets players, coaches and fans alike and it was the lively Joby McAnuff who was the biggest threat to the home side.

He forced Marlon Beresford into his one serious save of the afternoon, tipping over his long range shot just past the hour that was swiftly followed by a couple of efforts that were not too far wide.

Neil Shipperley had a shot blocked by Davis and a quick free kick ended with Damien Francis toe-poking a shot just wide of the post but there were few other scares.

In contrast the introduction of the speed pair of Ian Moore and Dimitri Papadopoulos threatened the Dons goal and there looked to be a good shout for a penalty when the latter fed the former but nothing was given.

For the second time in successive games there was a somewhat surreal atmosphere at Turf Moor. There may not have been a ban on away fans and the Dons followers did not exactly come in a taxi but the 70 that did come up had absolutely nothing to shout about.

Ternent admitted: "It was a funny kind of atmosphere and our fans were quiet for some reason. Whether we have to give them something to shout about I don't know but I thought that we played some good stuff. In the second half they were very good once we had scored though."

In contrast Murdoch admitted his side enjoyed the experience of actually playing in front of a big crowd.

"It was lovely to come here with all those people in the ground," he said. "It doesn't matter if they are shouting for you or against you, at least there is a bit of atmosphere."

The Clarets will next play Wimbledon in the league on the last day of the season when they will be in their new home at Milton Keynes. Quite what the atmosphere will be like there is anyone's guess.

It also remains to be seen what state the respective clubs will be in but many more unbeaten months like the Clarets enjoyed in September should guarantee Burnley are in a far higher position than they are this morning.

BURNLEY 1

(Little 51)

WIMBLEDON 0

Att: 12,259