TOM Cowan is recovering from the shock of being shown the door by Huddersfield Town to stake a convincing claim for a permanent move to Burnley.

Cowan has been an inspirational figure in the three games he has played for the Clarets and looks a good bet to stay on at Turf Moor if Burnley beat the drop.

And that would come as a welcome boost for the Scot who was heartbroken to be released by First Division Town.

"Peter Jackson let me go which I was very disappointed with because I had a great rapport with Huddersfield.

"I was there for five years and loved the place. I was part of the woodwork then all of a sudden 'bang' I'm out and thinking what am I going to do? Again I thank Stan for the chance here," said Cowan.

The former Sheffield United defender is quickly becoming a favourite at Turf Moor, a relationship which blossomed further thanks to a stunning goal in Sunday's crucial 4-3 win over Macclesfield Town.

That result lifted Burnley out of the relegation zone to edge the team towards safety and Cowan towards a possible full-time deal.

He added: "My contract is up here on June 30 and I am still on a free transfer on the Bosman ruling.

"Hopefully Burnley will want to keep me on if they stay up.

"I doubt if they'll want to keep me on if they go down because obviously they'll want to cut their wage bills and such like.

"I don't know what the manager's thinking.

"All I want to do is play football and I've said before Burnley have given me the chance and I'm grabbing it with both hands."

Burnley's first win in nine games lifted them two places out of the relegation zone and Cowan is looking to continue the upward curve through a critical Easter programme against Notts County and struggling Colchester.

He said: "We played with character at Wrexham and came back and drew 1-1 and should have won the game.

"The previous week we played against the second-top team and I thought we outplayed them.

"So it's definitely an improvement isn't it? From 5-0 and 6-0 it's a 1-0 defeat, then a draw and now a win.

"We just have to go on from here.

"The next few games are so vitally important, at Notts County and then Colchester because to be fair it will be a sticky one against Fulham!" Burnley boss Stan Ternent has been impressed with his recent aquisition but it will be the summer before any decision is taken.

Apart from Cowan, the Clarets League status could also have a bearing on a number of other summer deals but Ternent is looking only upwards after Sunday's last-gasp triumph.

"I hope it is a platform for us," he said. "The defending was a bit naive at times but we got the three points.

"I've said we need to get to 50 points and with nine games left we are going to need another four wins to achieve that."

And having finally ended a nine-match wait for a victory, that targets look to be back within Burnley's reach.

"I think we have been playing well enough in the last few games to get that win.

"I said someone would get on the wrong end of a stuffing, although despite scoring four goals it didn't quite work out that way on Sunday," Ternent added.

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