STAN Ternent admitted he and his Burnley players are "fighting for our lives" at the top of the first division.
And with just ten matches to go before the end of the season he is still targeting the run of victories that could yet clinch automatic promotion - starting with success at Walsall tonight.
"We have lost one in seven and if we continue doing that we will get in the play-offs," he said. "But if we can win our last ten on the bounce perhaps we can get automatic promotion.
"We have got two away games coming up and it is going to be a big six weeks.
"It is all to pay for but we are used to that. In the last eight or nine years, both here and at Bury, I have only been involved in two games where there was nothing to play for, once against Northampton and in the last match of last season against Watford.
"Apart from that we have always been playing for something. At the end of the season everything is high tempo, high pitch and now at the end of the season we have ten games to play in a short period of time.
"We have not been playing as well as we are capable of but this is where it is important to have done your homework pre-season."
With Glen Little definitely out for at least two weeks, Ternent has been boosted by the return to training of Tony Grant who limped off against Nottingham Forest with a hamstring injury last month.
"He trained yesterday and we will see how he is today," said Ternent. "But Branchy has got a bit of a strain."
Ian Cox, like Graham Branch left out of the 16 against Norwich, is available although Ternent saw returning skipper Steve Davis and French defender Arthur Gnohere play well having been paired together on Saturday.
If the Clarets are fighting for their lives near the top, Walsall are doing the same near the bottom but Ternent warned: "Walsall have got good players and they have got a new management team.
"They got a good result at Portsmouth at the weekend so they will be confident. But we beat them 5-2 at Turf Moor and it would be marvellous to get back to goalscoring."
That would certainly silence some of the manager's critics. Ternent launched an attack on the Turf Moor boo-boys over the weekend but with the expected loud backing from travelling fans tonight he reiterated: "The vast majority of our fans are fantastic and understand the situation.
"There are others that are that thick they don't. But it is a national thing as you could tell by watching telly at the weekend.
"But our away support has been fantastic and what the booers do is just self defeating."
Meanwhile Ternent confirmed that Little was at home yesterday, feeling unwell after his clash at the weekend with Darren Kenton.
"Saus (physio Ian Liversedge) will sort him out with the doctors and he will hopefully be available for the Preston game in two weeks."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article