DANNY Fox says beating old club Burnley this afternoon would mean more to him than any other result this season.

Fox left Turf Moor to join Southampton in August and returns from a one-match ban to feature in today’s clash at St Mary’s, as the Saints look to end a five-match winless run and get their automatic promotion challenge back on track.

The left back was sent off in last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Birmingham, which saw second-placed Southampton fall four points behind West Ham having previously led the table.

Birmingham and Cardiff are only two points behind Nigel Adkins’ side and Fox is eager for a victory this afternoon against his old Clarets team-mates.

The 25-year-old helped Southampton escape with a 1-1 draw when they visited Turf Moor in September.

“I’ve spoken to a few of the boys in the last few days and they’re upbeat,” he said of the chance to play against his friends from Burnley.

“It’s going to be nice to see some faces, but I’d love to beat them because it’s a game that means more to me than any other game this season to win, because we need to get back on a winning trail.

“I’ve got a lot of friends at a lot of clubs in the Championship, and I’m playing against lads that I know in most weeks.

“We talk before the game, maybe after it and have a bit of banter during the game.

“But if there’s a tackle there to be made or anything along those lines then it’s business at the end of the day.

“It’s your job and as long as you win by hook or by crook then it doesn’t matter to me because the three points are vital to us.

“I think everyone in the squad and everybody involved with Southampton will tell you that three points would be a massive result.”

Fox missed Tuesday’s shock FA Cup loss at home to Millwall through suspension, with fellow Clarets old boy Jack Cork absent with a hamstring injury.

But both are expected to return to the starting line-up today and Fox believes Southampton are still well placed to overcome their bad patch and gain promotion to the top flight.

“We’ve got a massive squad and we’re in a great position,” he said.

“It’s only West Ham who wouldn’t swap positions with us in the league at the minute.

“We’ve got Burnley followed by West Ham away, which is good as we don’t want to dwell on things for too long.

“With the games coming around thick and fast it’s good for us because if we do have an off day that we can move on quickly, but we do need to kick on now.”