ANDY Gray's return to full fitness has been key to Burnley's dramatic upturn in form, according to manager Steve Cotterill.

The Clarets boss believes that when his leading scorer struggled in the initial games of his comeback from a foot injury, that frustration stemmed right through the side.

But with Gray back on the goal trail and feeling at his strongest since his recovery from three broken metatarsals, Cotterill is confident he and his team-mates can enjoy a strong end to the season.

"When we lost Andy we were still doing alright, not conceding a lot of goals, but we did alright up to about the halfway line," said the Burnley boss.

"When Andy got right, he had that break, and then came back for Luton he's started scoring because he's sharper in and around the edge of the 18-yard box."

And Cotterill knows he need look no further than down the M65 to discover how much impact one goal can have on the confidence of a striker returning from injury.

Jason Roberts has spent much of his first season at Blackburn Rovers on the treatment table after being sidelined throughout September with a muscle problem and then spent three months out nursing a broken metatarsal he sustained at the end of October.

But his nine-month wait for a goal, after signing from Wigan Athletic in the summer, was ended in the 2-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat by Chelsea last Sunday. The 29-year-old then made it two in two games against Watford three days later.

"He had a problem. He hadn't scored then he scored Sunday and Wednesday. So all of a sudden what's different about Jason Roberts now to a few months ago?" Cotterill said.

"It would be fantastic if Andy could over-achieve now and score four goals in the next three games and end up with 15 goals because what a great season that would be for him."