ANDY Payton overcame his nerves to make himself an instant hero among Burnley fans - and give the club a long-awaited glimpse of a possible escape route from the Second Division drop zone.

The Burnley-born striker's goal on his home debut was worth three points against Southend United.

And, even though Chris Waddle's side stay rooted to the foot of the table, the relegation situation could hardly be tighter, with just two points covering the bottom five.

Payton, signed just a week earlier in a swap deal with Huddersfield, took his chance expertly to grab what could be a vital victory against one of Burnley's relegation rivals.

It was a big day for the experienced 30-year-old striker, who has scored goals at much higher levels, and he admitted: "I was quite nervous and most of my family was there to watch.

"I just wish I'd milked the moment a little more. It's a pity the old Longside is gone, or I could have run the length of that!

"It's disappointing to be still bottom, but we were desperate for those points.

"And despite it being scrappy, getting those points was all that mattered.

"The crowd really got behind us towards the end of the game which was magnificent and I hope we can start repaying them now and make progress up the league."

Player-manager Waddle was equally delighted for his new signing.

"Scoring the goal made it a nice home debut for him and he's off the mark now which is good," said the boss.

"We have been playing well. "Obviously our win against Watford was outstanding, and we didn't play as well in this game but it was a very important win.

"Looking at recent results, we beat Watford and we were unlucky against Bristol Rovers last week.

"We are staying strong in all areas.

"Saturday's game against York is another big one for us and winning that will really put us back in touch.

"Before that we've got Notts County and, while I'll be putting as strong a side out as I can to try to win that game, there will be a few changes."

Andy Cooke is expected to return after completing his two-match suspension and have a crack at forming a new strike force with Payton in tomorrow night's Auto Windscreens Shield tie against County at Turf Moor.

But other players are very doubtful and Waddle also revealed that Paul Smith and Kevin Henderson had been left out of the squad on Saturday after picking up ankle injuries in training.

Chris Brass collected a dead leg against Southend and Gerry Harrison needed a couple of stitches above an eye so they might well be rested tomorrow.

"We still should have a strong enough side to have a chance of winning the game," said Waddle.

"I expect they will be leaving one or two players out as well.

"The league is still our priority but if we can get to the later stages of this competition, it can prove a moneyspinner for the club."

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