THE TRINIDAD and Tobago FA have offered an olive branch to Burnley as they try and smooth the path for Ian Cox's future World Cup appearances.

The Clarets central defender is set to miss two more games this season due to international call-ups, with Trinidad's qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico keeping him out of Burnley's fixtures against QPR and Birmingham City -- assuming the five-day clause is evoked for the visit of City to Turf Moor on April 21. Cox was also absent for Burnley's win over Huddersfield Town a fortnight ago when manager Stan Ternent felt Trinidad's lack of communication and information on the player's schedule left a lot to be desired.

However, the Trinidad and Tobago FA insist they will work closely with Burnley in the future in an attempt to minimise the disruption when Cox is required for international duty and have promised that all players will be released straight back to their clubs after games.

"We are talking to Burnley before, during and after to manage it so that we have a win-win situation," said Neville Chance, team administrator for the Trinidad national side.

"The whole idea is that football, Burnley, Trinidad and Tobago and Ian Cox are all winners.

"We aren't looking for conflict. We just want everyone to see everybody's side.

"What we have said is that we send back players immediately after the game. The principle all the time is that players are put straight on a flight so there is no disruption.

"We are happy and willing to work with Burnley and that's our position."

He added: "We certainly respect the contribution of Burnley to the player and certainly in respect that Burnley are the organisation paying the player.

"But we also have to respect the situtation with world football and the situation there is that FIFA have given the privilege to nations to get players to play for their country.

"FIFA try their best to synchronise the games with minimum disruption to clubs and we want a balanced view and to approach it in a balanced way."

Cox put his international career on hold after joining Burnley from Bournemouth last February to help the Clarets clinch promotion.

But Trinidad see him as a key part of their qualifying campaign and he looks certain to retain his place in their side despite a 1-0 defeat to Jamaica in their group opener.

Chance said: "Last year our technical staff took the decision not to ask for Ian Cox. Burnley were making a case and we didn't advance our position to ask for him but at this point where we want to qualify for the World Cup and we believe we have a very good chance we need the co-operation of all the clubs.

"We hope that Ian will be involved for the entire campaign. He's very important to us and very important to our hopes of qualifying."

Ternent and West Ham counterpart Harry Redknapp were annoyed that they both lost players ahead of the Jamaica game while Dwight Yorke was able to play for Manchester United.

However, Chance insisted: "That was a one-off situation and we have put all things into place to ensure that there's not a repeat. We hope the clubs will bury that and treat it as a one-off situation."

And Chance's words will be welcomed by Ternent, who said: "You don't want to stop players playing international football and having the opportunity to get to the World Cup finals and I think they will have a good chance of doing it.

"All I want is some form of communication. I want to know where my player is and when he's coming back, that's all."

More immediately, Cox will have his sights on tomorrow night's re-arranged game at Watford where Burnley will be looking to end their long wait for an away win.

The Clarets hope to have Glen Little back in their squad after injury and Gordon Armstrong is also set to return.