FIRST division leaders Crystal Palace visit Turf Moor tomorrow night and Clarets boss Stan Ternent is looking for a big improvement from his players.

Despite scoring three goals in each of the last two home games the Clarets have failed to win either of them.

"We have had two 3-3 draws at home and taken two points from 15 but we are still up there," he said.

"There is always some light at the end of the tunnel.

"But the players did not have one of their best days against Barnsley and we have got to get on with it and put it right.

"You don't expect to go through the season without hiccups but when you go through this sort of patch it is better to still be there or thereabouts."

Having led the table for most of last month the current run has seen Burnley drop to fifth place following Coventry's defeat of Crewe Alexandra yesterday evening.

But the Clarets remain only four points behind tomorrow night's visitors although Ternent knows his side needs to start turning things around soon or the excellent start to the season could be wasted.

What he does not know is when key winger Glen Little will be fully fit to return to the fray but he is clearly determined not to rush him.

Little had hoped to play against the Tykes at the weekend and he is also eager to face the Eagles, the club where he started his career.

"The situation with Glen is that playing him would have been a risk that I was not prepared to take," he said.

"If his hamstring goes again then he is going to be out for a considerable length of time.

"I have just got to listen to the advice from the doctor, the specialist and the physio.

"We have only played 13 games out of 46 so there are still 33 to go. The other injured players, Alan Moore, Graham Branch and Mitchell Thomas are all getting there but it is a long, long season."

Meanwhile at the weekend the Clarets were again linked with a move for Bradford City's unsettled striker Robbie Blake.

Blake has been a rumoured target for Ternent for a long time and he is still reportedly unsettled at Valley Parade, although he did start against Birmingham in the 4-0 defeat at the weekend.

The Bantams are trying to sell Benito Carbone to Derby, the player having already gone on loan to Pride Park, but manager Jim Jeffries could still be prepared to let Blake leave although the two clubs will differ over his valuation.

Bradford have always insisted that they want £1million for the 25-year-old who was a key figure in their promotion winning campaign a couple of seasons ago.

The Clarets have been reported as offering £400,000.

But this morning Bantams' chairman Geoffrey Richmond insisted: "We have had not had a bid for Robbie Blake from Burnley and the player is not for sale."