IT'S a well-worn footballing philosophy that supporters can be a side's 12th man, but Burnley manager Steve Cotterill believes his players have felt the wrath of the home crowd in their last three away games.

Now he wants to lace the boot on the other foot, and has urged the Clarets faithful to raise the roof for back to back home games against Norwich, tonight, and Southampton on Saturday, in their bid to stay unbeaten at Turf Moor this season.

"I think we've been to what I would call similar-sized clubs crowd wise to us in Bristol City, Cardiff and Barnsley, and the vociferous crowds there make them very difficult places to get a result," said Cotterill, ahead of tonight's Championship clash against the struggling Canaries.

Norwich head to East Lancashire having won only once in 17 Turf Moor visits - clinching an eight-goal thriller 5-3 in April 2004 - while also on a morale-sapping run of five defeats from their last six games.

But Cotterill is refusing to read anything into their recent run of poor form.

"I suppose everyone will turn up (tonight) and expect Burnley to win," he said.

"Norwich are a massive club, were recently in the Premiership, have 24,000 watching them every week, have a bigger budget than what we'll probably ever have here, and we're expected to turn them over.

"So we'll make sure we guard against that.

"Before Bristol City scored their first goal on Saturday, Norwich dominated the game.

"Having looked at the game, there would have been every chance that Norwich could have won by three or four.

"The thing we will have to take no notice of is Saturday's scoreline.

"John Hartson could have had about four, but hopefully that's Saturday only.

"He's not had a game so he probably had a freshness in him. He's been around so he's going to be a wily old fox."

Cotterill added: "I don't like talking too much about other clubs, I don't have an opinion on other teams, where they're doing well and not doing so well really.

"I don't like that because I think it has a habit of coming and biting you if you go and say the wrong thing.

"I certainly won't be doing that, other than to say Norwich are a big club and we've just got to make sure that when they come here tomorrow night that our fans are as vociferous and vocal as the ones that we've just endured in our last three away games in Bristol City, Cardiff and Barnsley, because it was tough to get a result there.

"They cheered throw-ins for them and we need ours to be the same.

"It's normally a better atmosphere at night here. It seems as though people lose their inhibitions a little bit and cheer their team on a bit more, but that's the way it needs to be.

"This is getting to be a big league now and we're not one of the big clubs in it.

"We need to realise that and use everything we possibly can in our favour."

And Cotterill hopes that their support will be rewarded with goals and three points.

"We always go out to win. We don't change anything, we're set up to go and win the game and we want to win the game," he said.

"You can do as much crossing and finishing as you like, you can do as much as you want on defending set plays, but you've got to make sure that when you go out there you take your chances and you head the balls out of your box.

"Our football is good and that's why we're creating chances.

"We have just got to be a bit more clinical and take them.

"And when we do take them someone's going to get a good hiding."