Clarets boss Stan Ternent admitted the play-off dream is fading fast after the latest defensive nightmare but he is refusing to give up the fight.

"We have made it very difficult for ourselves but we have still got 51 points to play for," he said. "We missed out on the play-offs with 75 points last season but I don't think it will be that many this year.

"We need another four wins to maintain our first division status but we need four or five on the trot to have a chance of the play-offs.

"I still feel the players have done extremely well but we will have to perform a lot better than that!

"We need leadership and I will give them that - but we also need it on the pitch. We have got to re-group and crack on."

It was a familiar refrain as it was the third time this season that the Clarets have conceded five or more goals in a game, two of them at home, and the manager was in no mood to make excuses for his players.

"We were way, way below par and we have to buck up on that," he admitted. "It was a really poor performance and I am not quite sure why.

"How can we get something like eight or nine players below par on the standard they set themselves."

Reading boss Alan Pardew, a player under Ternent at Crystal Palace 14 years ago, acknowledged: "Stan will be spitting feathers. He is a top man and he will be upset about it but they will be back.

"We played a very, very good Burnley side and we made them look pretty ordinary."

Ternent was today checking on the fitness of versatile Lee Briscoe after he ended up in hospital on Saturday night after limping off at half time in the clash with the Royals.

"Lee Briscoe got a nasty knock on his thigh and it really blew up big style," said Ternent who faces another selection problem in midfield ahead of Saturday's trip to Coventry.

"In the middle of the park Paul Cook, Granty and Brizzer were the only three I had available." If Briscoe's injury is a bad one, his options will be even fewer at the weekend.

But amid the disappointment after another heavy defeat he did look for some positive news as he said: "Paul Weller and Steve Davis are a little nearer to fitness and might be with us in a couple of weeks. Graham Branch has also got his suspension out of the way.

"It will be nice to have them back because we are stretched on the ground in midfield. It is a position that is difficult to cover."

Burnley are still just seven points away from the top six but lying 16th in the first division. That means they have a massive task on their hands if they are to make it to the play-offs and they can't afford any more collapses like the one on Saturday.

They have lost more games than they have won and Ternent will be demanding an immediate improvement at Highfield Road.