STEVE Cotterill wants to take Michael Ricketts back in time to help steer the former England international out of the wilderness.

Mention the striker to most football fans and they recall the one solitary cap he earned against Holland in February 2002, while scoring freely for Bolton Wanderers.

Within 45 minutes, the dream of booking a place in Sven Goran Eriksson's squad for the World Cup in Japan lay in tatters after he was substituted at half time.

Ricketts' mysterious decline can almost be traced to that very night in Amsterdam.

But four years on, astute Burnley boss Cotterill is ready to put his famed man-management skills to work on one of football's great enigmas.

He said: "Everybody keeps talking to Michael about being an England international and he has probably had that rammed down his throat more times than he cares to remember, which puts more weight on his shoulders.

"But I know Michael from the days alongside Clive Platt at Walsall, when I tried to get them on loan at Cheltenham before they were even established in the Walsall team.

"So I've had a good chat with him since he arrived and I've tried to take Michael back to the days when he was hungry and desperate to get into the Walsall team.

"I would rather go back and start again with him, rather than talk about England."

Ricketts' Bolton career went into swift reverse following that England appearance.

After finding the net 39 times for the Trotters in a year-and-a-half following his £400,000 switch from the Saddlers, he scored just seven more goals in the ensuing 11 months before Middlesbrough finally pipped Spurs to his £3.5million signature in January 2003.

Ricketts openly admits that his time at the Riverside was a disaster, scoring just four goals in 16 months before Leeds United pounced to take him to Elland Road on a free transfer in June 2004 Throughout that turbulent spell, accusations of being hard to manage have also dogged the striker at every turn.

But after only a few days at Turf Moor, Cotterill feels Ricketts is merely a simple soul looking to get his career back on track.

"People have said Michael is a difficult character, but I don't see that in him," insisted the Clarets chief.

"I see a laid back Brummie and sometimes that can be misconstrued that he doesn't care.

"But I see a good lad in Michael Ricketts and you might have to find something else deep inside him before you find the player.

"It's more than just putting your arm around someone, or giving out a rollocking.

"I think it goes a bit deeper and that's where I got with Ade Akinbiyi, so it will be an interesting couple of months.

"What Michael needs now is to be playing well enough so that Leeds cannot afford to drop him from their squad next season."

Ricketts, who spent the first four months of the season on loan at Cardiff - keeping former Burnley striker Alan Lee on the sidelines - featured in his first game in over a month in a Clarets debut at Brighton on Tuesday.

And ahead of his Turf Moor bow tomorrow, Cotterill insisted: "He will get better.

"He's had a month of not playing football and if you take that big frame and try to run it around for 90 minutes again it's hard work.

"We are looking for Michael to be better this weekend, which I am sure he will be.

"He has not come here from Leeds to just have a jolly for three months. He wants to do well and it's almost like he wants to get back to where he was.

"He's had a couple of years where he's gone into the wilderness, but we'll try our best to help get him there."