LEGENDARY escapologist Lennie Lawrence is looking for three points against Burnley tomorrow to help him pull off another successful fight against the drop.

Lawrence established a Houdini-like reputation during his managerial days at Charlton before taking his managerial skills to Middlesbrough and Luton Town.

And when Grimsby made a stuttering start to the season under Alan Buckley to sit uncomfortably near the foot of the table it was Lawrence they turned to protect their proud record of having played in Division One for every year bar one since 1992.

He has slowly lifted the Blundell Park outfit out of the bottom four but a run of just one win in six League games means they are are only a couple of points clear of the danger zone.

However, the Mariners have lost just once at home in the League since September and Lawrence is hoping to gain some added breathing space at Burnley's expense.

He said: "A lot of our rivals are playing in the cup and one or two aren't playing. One or two others have difficult looking matches and we can give ourselves a big lift with a win over Burnley.

"They are having a difficult time at the moment but they have had a fantastic 18 months and a good start to the season so it will be a difficult game."

Lawrence pulled off an unlikely double over the promotion-chasing Clarets last season before being shown the door at Luton in the summer and after earning a 1-1 draw with his new club at Turf Moor back in September is looking to keep that run of form going.

"I've got a good record against Burnley down the years but they have had a great year and if they finish in the top half they've made exceptional progress.

"Stan has done a great job and I'm a bit surprised at the apparent unrest," he added.

Grimsby's prospects will be boosted by the return of former Blackburn Rovers striker Steve Livingstone and Dutch midfielder Menno Willems after one-match bans, while leading scorer Bradley Allen could return to the bench after a lengthy spell out with injury.

And Allen is hoping for a taste of the action and a repeat of Town's impressive win over Portsmouth in their last Blundell Park outing.

The former QPR and Charlton marskman said: "All our games are important now. We are not out of the woods by any means.

"There'll be six or seven other teams battling it out with us until the end of the season. Nobody is really stringing three or four wins together.

"As for Burnley, they'll be big and strong. They are direct and they are dangerous from set plays."

He added: "There's every chance of staying up. I watched us play against Portsmouth last month and I thought we performed very well -- one of our best performances for many months. If we can play like that consistently, we should be all right. I think the potential is definitely there."