GRAHAM Branch will be fit to face Rotherham in the FA Cup on Saturday, despite limping out of the Clarets' reserve game last night.

Branch turned in an impressive performance as he made two of Burnley's goals in a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

The left-sided player picked up a knock late on but manager Stan Ternent confirmed today that Branch, an active substitute in Burnley's last four League games, would be available for the second-round tie.

"He's alright. He'll be fine and Lenny came through alright as well," said the Burnley boss. Injuries and Mark Robertson's international commitments have left Burnley a bit stretched in recent games.

But with Johnrose continuing his return by playing a full 90 minutes and Tom Cowan resuming full training today, the picture is looking brighter.

Cowan hasn't figured in the first-team squad since the middle of September because of a hamstring injury.

But the left-back stepped up his comeback bid at Gawthorpe this morning.

"He's training with the full squad and we'll see how he does over the week. That's a bit of good news provided he comes through alright," Ternent added.

And Alan Lee, who wasn't in the 16 against Blackpool last Sunday, scored last night to also keep himself in the frame for a return to senior duty.

However, one sour note from the reserves' victory was a leg injury to Eammon Kelly, who was hurt in a bad tackle from Adam Chambers and was undergoing an X-ray today.

Chambers received just a yellow card for an over-the-top challenge on the young Burnley midfielder, while Clarets' defender John Williamson was sent off in the second half for a challenge deemed by the referee to be a professional foul. Although Wigan won last night to go four points clear at the top of Division Two, Burnley go into Saturday's tie in a healthy frame of mind.

And Steve Davis admitted that getting their house in order in the League had been of the utmost importance before Ternent's men switched their focus to the Cup.

He said: "We felt that we had to win on Sunday with the likes of Wigan and Preston winning. We had to keep on their tails and we managed to do that.

"Sometimes the results go the other way and you feel under less pressure but when teams like Wigan and Preston win, you've got to win yourselves and luckily we did that.

"We're tucked in nicely now. We've got a break now with the Cup coming up and then we'll crack on after that."

And Davis is optimistic that the Clarets can launch a cup run in tandem with their promotion push.

He added: "It's a home tie which is what you're after. "Rotherham are doing well in the Third Division so it will be a hard game but hopefully if we play to our strengths we will have too much."

The Clarets' Football in the Community Programme has received a grant of £10,417 from Football League sponsors Nationwide Building Society as part of their "Season of Promise."

The money will be spent on providing extra entertainment in the family village the programme stages in the leisure centre before first-team and reserve fixtures at Turf Moor.

And it will also be used to provide match-day tickets for special schools in the Burnley area, allowing the youngsters to join in with the community programme's match-day club, proving lunch and a ticket to watch the Clarets.

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