CRYSTAL Palace reject Glen Little is relishing Burnley's mini-series against his former club after the two sides were last night paired together in the second round of the Worthington Cup.

Before that two-legged tie, the Clarets go to Selhurst Park on Saturday for a First Division clash and Little is keen to show the Londoners what they missed out on.

The Burnley midfielder spent the best part of 10 years with Palace after starting out there as a schoolboy.

But after a couple of years as a professional and no first-team appearances he was farmed out to Glentoran.

However, since then his career has taken off and Little will return to his former stamping ground on Saturday as a key member of the Clarets' line-up.

He said: "I was disappointed to leave Palace but I've come full circle really and got my chance thanks to Adrian Heath signing me for Burnley.

"It's gone well ever since, we're back in the First Division and I'm looking forward to going back.

"I was quite disappointed at what happened at Palace and fairly bitter at the time. I've got nothing to prove to anyone but it would be nice to go there and maybe prove I was a better player than what they thought."

Yet despite his long association with Palace, Little admits that Saturday's return to South London won't be too familiar. He added: "I'd be surprised if too many remember me. I never got to play a first-team game there although I think a few of the die-hards who follow the youth team and the reserve team will know me.

"And it will be a bit strange playing at Selhurst because even though I was there for 10 years I only played there twice and that was at under-11, I think. But I'm looking forward to it. I have a lot of family down there and strangely enough some of the people who were there have gone back.

"Alan Smith was the manager and he's gone back now, although in terms of the players there's only Simon Rodger who was there, and a few youngsters who have come through."

The Palace fixtures will also mean a reunion for Clarets boss Stan Ternent, who was on the coaching staff at Selhurst Park under Steve Coppell in the late 1980s, and defender Ian Cox who was a former club-mate of Little and made 15 League appearances for the Eagles before joining Bournemouth in 1996.

Saturday's game at Palace is pay-on-the-day but supporters have to buy a ticket at Selhurst Park and can't pay at the turnstiles. The Park Road box office will be open for Clarets fans.