TOM Cowan is bracing himself to face an Oldham side going into "their biggest game of the season."

The Latics' only win in their last 10 games came at Manchester City in the aftermath of City's 6-0 hammering of Burnley.

And a 1-1 draw with Luton Town a week ago ended a run of three straight home defeats for an Oldham outfit now just one point above the relegation zone.

The importance of tomorrow's game therefore can't be over-emphasised for Andy Ritchie's men - a fact acknowledged by Cowan.

The Clarets defender said: "It's probably the biggest game of their season as Macclesfield probably was for us.

"It's a big game for both clubs and hopefully if we show the same attitude we'll win it."

Burnley simply had to beat Macclesfield a fortnight ago and did - just.

And while the Clarets aren't yet clear of danger themselves, they are closing in on the 50-point safety target set by manager Stan Ternent.

"It's nice to actually get a few points on the board and be out of the relegation zone," admitted Cowan, who has tasted defeat just once in a Burnley shirt since joining the club on a short-term contract from Huddersfield Town.

"Things are going well at the moment and we have to keep it going.

"The two wins have been of upmost importance considering it was one club below us and one we could go above which we did.

"It was vitally important we did get those results. I think the lads' attitudes towards those games have been superb and there's another big one tomorrow.

"It's a must-win game and we need to go about it the same as we did against Macclesfield and Colchester. "I know we were quite lucky against Macclesfield considering we gave away three goals but I think the character showed as we came back from it and hopefully we'll show the same character against Oldham."

A Burnley victory would obviously hasten their climb away from trouble and their record of one defeat in seven away games coupled with Oldham's 10 home losses suggests that result is a distinct possibility.

But if they can extend their unbeaten run to five games with a draw then they would at least maintain a four-point cushion over Oldham.

And a win either tomorrow or at stuttering Blackpool next Tuesday night would represent a healthy return from a critical five-game spell that started with the last-gasp win over Macclesfield.

"It's always hard winning away from home and if you get something from the game you take it, as long as you don't get beat. Touch wood we won't," added Cowan.

"We were quite happy with four points from the Easter programme and again if we take four points from the next two games I think we'll be happy with that."

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