ANDY Payton breathed a sigh of relief as he ended his barren spell in front of goal to keep Burnley within five points of Second Division leaders Wigan Athletic.

The Clarets' leading scorer had gone eight games without finding the net until he headed his ninth of the season to put Burnley in front at a vibrant JJB Stadium on Saturday.

And he admitted that it had taken a weight off his mind.

"With not scoring for a bit you start thinking 'when's it going to come ?'

"But you keep plugging away and I got one. So hopefully now I'll be off again," said Payton, who is back on track to reach his target of double figures by Christmas.

And he is also set to threaten the 20-goal barrier for the second season running, according to manager Stan Ternent.

The Burnley boss said: "I am absolutely delighted for him because he's been through a tough time. But I've never for one second lost the confidence in him and I still maintain that he'll get his 20 goals or very close to it.

"If there are chances about he'll put them in, like he did on Saturday. But it is a team game."

Payton's 17th-minute strike looked as though it might provide the base for Burnley to hand Wigan their first League defeat of the season.

But Simon Haworth levelled against the run of play four minutes before half-time to spark a Latics' revival.

And the 1-1 result left Payton with mixed feelings. "There's a tinge of disappointment but I suppose you've got to be happy," he said.

"We were really disappointed at half-time because we thought, as it probably looked, we had 99 per cent of the play.

"I think if we could have got the second goal (it would have won it).

"But having said that in the second half they had a few chances so it was probably a fair result. In the first half we were the better side and in the second half they probably were. But we've nothing to fear really."

While Burnley made sure that Wigan remain in striking distance, Preston moved level on points at the top thanks to their 3-1 win at Bury.

And Payton ranks Wigan and Preston, where Burnley drew 0-0 earlier this season, as the Clarets' major promotion rivals.

"There are teams like Gillingham but those two are good sides. But if we beat them at home we'll get one up on them hopefully and get in that top two.

"Obviously we would like to be top but it's a lot better than last year. "I think we've proved that we are a match for anyone in this league. There's a long way to go and if we can keep our home form going and keep pinching points away I think we'll be alright," he said.

Payton's goal capped a memorable week as he crammed two games and the birth of his second daughter into a hectic five-day spell.

"We had another little girl, Georgia. I was a bit tired at Reading the other night with all the travelling as well but we've had a decent week with two draws. We've got to win at home now next week," he added.

Burnley's youth team beat Wigan 1-0 thanks to an Alex Kevan penalty.

Rossendale Clarets are holding their Christmas party at the Rose N Bowl tonight. Everyone is welcome and admission is £5.

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