Clarets still looking for win

It would only need four wins to reach safety, but those four wins are beginning to seem a long way away for a side that is currently conceding too many soft goals, struggling to create chances let along take them, and has got into the habit of losing games.

There have been suggestions from some of this being a must win game, but that's certainly not the case, the immediate target is to get a win as soon as possible and then to get enough points to reach safety as soon as possible to avoid getting dragged into a scrap with the likes of Barnsley, Southend, QPR and Leeds.

Our opponents tonight from Leicester are enjoying something of a good spell. They have won their last two games and last week the club was taken over by former Portsmouth Chairman Milan Mandaric. It was party time at the Crisp Bowl on Saturday and they stormed into a 3-0 lead against a woeful Coventry side in under half an hour.

That followed on from a 1-0 win at Ipswich the week before, and it just shows how fortunes can quickly change, Leicester were on a run of seven games without a win when they arrived at Portman Road ten days ago.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since we went to the Crisp Bowl in August singing, 'We are top of the league' and turned in one of our best performances of the season. We were outstanding that night with the midfield totally in control of the game. Leicester fans approached us at the end, telling us that we were a far better side than they were, yet we go into tonight's game below them in the table.

Manager Rob Kelly has some money to spend now, or will have when the transfer window opens in the summer, but with the takeover taking longer than expected he was unable to bring in the players he wanted during January - and one of those players was his former player Joey Gudjonsson who signed for the Clarets.

Kelly though was able to boost his squad with four loan signings before the window closed, and a fifth emergency signing last week. Former Everton striker Danny Cadamarteri was first, he'd returned to the game after a ban and was playing for Grays in the Conference. To date he's been used as a substitute.

Tottenham forward Mark Yeates followed, and he's expected to play tonight for his second Turf Moor appearance of the season. He was also in the Hull side that lost 2-0 back in September.

Cardiff's Luigi Lombard is another to be used exclusively as a substitute whilst Sheffield United's unwanted striker Geoff Horsfield has come in for the last three games and scored twice in the win over Coventry.

The last loan signing is Jason Jarrett who is now playing for his third Championship club this season. He's a Preston player, having joined them from Norwich in the summer, and like Yeates has also been on loan at Hull.

It's a tough game for the Clarets, but having seen Wolves do the double over us it will be good to see us take the maximum six points from Leicester and get that so needed victory.

Click HERE to see all Leicester's results this season.

Patrick McCarthy is the only player ruled out of the Leicester side, although they also have three players returning from injury and it is touch and go whether they will be ready or not. Danny Tiatto has a hamstring injury, Matty Fryatt is struggling with a foot problem and Stephen Hughes is recovering from a groin and back injury.

It is more than likely they won't play and it would be no surprise to see Kelly name the same side that beat Coventry which was: Paul Henderson, Alan Maybury, Gareth McAuley, Patrick Kisnorbo, Nils-Eric Johansson, Mark Yeates, Jason Jarrett, Andy Johnson, Levi Porter, Iain Hume, Geoff Horsfield. Subs: Conrad Logan, Richard Stearman, Darren Kenton, Elvis Hammond, Danny Cadamarteri.

Click HERE to see the full Leicester squad.

Steve Cotterill might have to shuffle his pack again to try and find a winning formula although I don't expect there to be too many changes. He brought both Chris McCann and Kyle Lafferty on for the second half on Saturday and things improved with both, and Chris in particular, playing their part.

I suspect he might stick with the side that played most of the second half which was: Danny Coyne, Michael Duff, John McGreal, Steven Caldwell, Jon Harley, Kyle Lafferty, James O'Connor, Chris McCann, Wade Elliott, Ade Akinbiyi, Andy Gray. Subs: Wayne Thomas, Stephen Foster, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Joey Gudjonsson, Steve Jones.

Our home game against Leicester last season game straight after the 3-2 win at Luton. There was some concern during the week that we might not have a goalkeeper with Brian Jensen suspended, and is it proved John Spicer was needed elsewhere.

We signed Derby's Lee Grant on loan ahead of the game and he made his debut in goal, in fact his one and only appearance for the Clarets, and he could have done no better than keep a clean sheet.

Keeping a clean sheet wasn't the most difficult of tasks. Leicester boss Craig Levein had said all week they were working on their forward play and could guarantee goals - and then turned up with Dion Dublin and the inspirational Mark de Vries up front.

It was our fourth successive win, and although we weren't at our best the 1-0 scoreline flattered Leicester. Spicer, not required for goalkeeping duties, scored his first league goal for us and we had two goals disallowed that proved to be poor decision.

No one will ever quite work out why Matt Messias ruled out what would have been the Turf Moor goal of the season when Ade hammered in an unstoppable shot from a tight angle, and the assistant got it horribly wrong when he flagged Keith Lowe offside in the second half as he turned in an initial shot from Micah Hyde. It was three points though, a further climb up the table to sixth.

The teams were;

Burnley: Lee Grant, Michael Duff, Keith Lowe, John McGreal, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott (Duane Courtney 84), John Spicer, Micah Hyde, James O'Connor, Garreth O'Connor (Chris McCann 80), Ade Akinbiyi. Subs not used: Danny Karbassiyoon, Nathan Dyer, Gifton Noel-Williams.

Leicester: Rab Douglas, Alan Maybury, Patrick McCarthy, Patrik Gerrbrand, Nils-Eric Johansson (Danny Tiatto 54), Momo Sylla (Stephen Hughes 76), Joey Gudjonsson, Patrick Kisnorbo, Ryan Smith, Dion Dublin (Elvis Hammond 63), Mark de Vries. Subs not used: Richard Stearman, Joe Hamill.