BURNLEY boss Stan Ternent was today facing a crunch decision over potential match-winner Glen Little.

Little returned to action after two games out when he played an hour for the Clarets reserves at Coventry on Tuesday night.

But Ternent had to decide after training today whether the winger is ready for a first-team comeback against promotion-chasing Gillingham at Turf Moor tomorrow.

Little is a key player for Burnley and has been badly missed while sitting out nine of the last 13 games with hernia and abductor muscle injuries.

Against a rock-solid Gillingham side, which has lost just once in 24 games, his presence could be invaluable.

But Ternent won't take any chances and risk losing the player for a longer period and Little may well start on the bench with the option of pepping up the Clarets attack if required.

Little said: "I played for 60 minutes the other night and couldn't feel it in the game but the next morning it was a bit stiff.

"I have rested it and I will be in today and see how it feels. We will probably work on some team-play and decide from there.

"It might be a bit rushed maybe to start but we'll have a look at things and it might be okay to be on the bench. I'm not sure what the manager has in mind." He added: "I want to get back. With results not going our way and it being a bit stop-start for me it's been a bit frustrating.

"But I have got to make sure it doesn't go again or it will be like this until the end of the season.

"I will speak to the manager and see what his plans are, whether he thinks it's worth it to play, sit on the bench or give it another week."

Burnley have the same number of points from the same number of games as this time last season as they bid for a first home win in seven attempts to avert another relegation scrap.

And parallels will also be drawn between another possible comeback for Little and the impact he had when forcing his way into Chris Waddle's plans to save the day last year. "It's probably natural the way it's been going," Little admitted. "If the results had been a bit more positive people wouldn't have noticed and I could have been allowed to miss a few weeks and not go straight back in.

"I think it's obvious it's going to happen when results don't go for you and people start to think are we going to get sucked in?

"I would like to think when the groin problem clears up I can try and get back to the form I finished last season in.

"The way it's going we have got some really big games coming up. We know what happened last season and we don't want to go through that again.

"We have still got a bit of breathing space but we don't want to go into the last month looking over our shoulders. March is going to be a big month for us."

With the next four fixtures pitching Burnley against promotion-chasing sides, the harbingers of doom might point to an extended fight against the drop.

But Ternent, naturally, doesn't see it that way and Burnley will be in a positive frame of mind tomorrow.

"You have got teams going for promotion and teams at the bottom. Who should be fighting harder?" asked the Burnley boss, who expects his side to give every bit as much to the cause as Gillingham, Wigan, Manchester City and Preston.

"I will say that if we are on it we are a match for anyone. They are good games to test yourself and I have no problem with that." Steve Davis misses the game through a one-match ban and Chris Brass could replace him in his favoured central defensive position, allowing Micky Mellon to resume in midfield following his own one-game ban.

Neil Moore is also named in the Clarets 16-man squad after missing last Saturday's defeat at Wycombe through suspension with the injured Peter Swan making way.

Burnley from: Crichton, Pickering, Morgan, Mellon, Brass, Reid, Armstrong, Cooke, Payton, Johnrose, Branch, Little, Maylett, Moore, Heywood, Kval.

Gillingham are likely to name the side that won 1-0 at Bristol Rovers in mid-week to stay fourth in the table.

Gillingham: Bartram, Southall, Ashby, Smith, Butters, Pennock, Patterson, Hessenthaler, Asaba, Saunders, Taylor, Hodge, Carr, Galloway.

Burnley 'A' are at home to Tranmere tomorrow morning.

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