Pete Oliver's match report

Three more matches I can manage, another five or six -- no chance.

What should have been a comfortable cruise into this afternoon's game at Brentford after an hour of marvellous football suddenly turned into 30 minutes of hell for the Clarets.

And following cliff-hanging finishes that have gone their way in the past month, this time it was Burnley who were clinging on in desperation after a 4-0 lead had evaporated in the late afternoon sunshine.

"For the fans it was a remarkable game, but from my point of view it's just crazy," admitted manager Stan Ternent, whose reputation for dour football has long-since been blown to pieces.

"I'm not sure I want to be associated with all these entertainers. It does my heart no good whatsoever," he added.

When Millwall popped in their third goal after 87 minutes and referee Jeff Winter managed to find four minutes of added time, the Clarets' whole promotion campaign hung in the balance.

Time stood still as Millwall peppered the penalty area, sensing at least a point so soon after Paul Cook's stunning fourth goal for Burnley after just 52 minutes had suggested a land-slide home victory. "We were coasting at 4-0. I thought I'd take the two Andys off and give them a bit of a rest for Monday and all of a sudden they get a goal, they get another goal and we want to defend under the crossbar.

"And it's not acceptable," said Ternent, pitchside and almost dragging his back four out of their own goalmouth in the nerve-shredding final moments.

John Mullin finally and heroically relieved the tension with one more run deep into the Lions' territory and Winter's final whistle saw Ternent with his head in his hands and Burnley still in the promotion race.

The game they had to win had been won and in a more reflective tone, the manager saluted his players who finally moved out of fifth place, above Millwall and still two points adrift of Wigan in second spot.

"The main thing is we got the three points.

"Sometimes the heart rules the head late on in games and we defend in wrong areas. But it's only because they are trying to win football matches.

"In fairness to the players they have reacted extremely well to a 3-0 beating by Gillingham. It was an absolutely fantastic response," Ternent said.

In a season of such high drama, this was up there with the most compelling of the Clarets' catalogue of close-calls. It was a classic game so unrecognisable from Burnley's mid-week disappointment against Gillingham, who were at Millwall today in another crunch game.

The Londoners contributed fully to 90-minutes of almost all-out attack capped by some high quality goals.

The Clarets' tactics against the Gills were called into question in some quarters but Ternent got it spot-on here with a switch to 4-4-2 with some interesting choices in midfield.

In the absence of Lenny Johnrose, Ronnie Jepson made his first start of the season in central midfield where he was a pivotal figure, while Cook was asked to play on the left flank.

Hardly a winger in the Peter Barnes mould, the 32-year-old stll managed to have a hugely influential game thanks to his willingness to receive the ball and his devastating left-foot delivery.

Mitchell Thomas slotted in with the expected minimum of fuss at right-back, while Andy Cooke returned up front and looked a different player from the one sidelined recently by injury after a dip in form.

One person who has never changed his position, however, is Paul Crichton, and the Clarets keeper had an outstanding game.

He made a smart stop from Paul Moody after just two minutes as Millwall flew out of the blocks and crucially it was Burnley who struck first when Ian Cox headed home his first goal for the club from Cook's corner.

In a frantic start, Crichton and Graham Branch then combined to deny Neil Harris and Moody with inspired blocks before Cooke made it 2-0 after half-an-hour with a clinical near-post volley from Mullin's intelligent knock-down. That was the cue for some magnificent football from the Clarets against a side unbeaten in eight games.

And it was no surprise when their third goal came from a Micky Mellon corner. The Lions couldn't cope with the accuracy of his delivery and Burnley's aerial power, and this time Davis headed powerfully past a static Tony Warner to register his sixth goal since the end of February two minutes before the break.

When Cook then crashed home a spectacular fourth seven minutes into the second half it was a case of save the legs for today.

But Millwall had other ideas and the lively Harris inspired an incredible fightback.

His first after 60 minutes had an air of consolation about it as Burnley still looked dangerous themselves.

But when he made it 4-2 with another neat finish 13 minutes from time Burnley began to wobble.

Substitute Ian Wright dragged a shot wide when he could have settled it but by now the focus was squarely on the other end where there were sporadic outbreaks of unrest amongst the visiting fans. Only Crichton seemed capable of standing firm as he thwarted Tim Cahill. But when the same player got his revenge moments later, concern had become panic in the home ranks.

An equaliser could have done immeasurable damage to the Clarets' prospects of going up, even via the play-offs.

But to their credit they refused to buckle again and heading for Brentford today the dream was still alive -- just.