THERE was talk in the air on Saturday evening of a corner having been turned this last week.

And whilst one point from the last six could scarcely be said to represent a massive turnaround in fortunes as the Clarets continue to plough through their lonely slough of despond, there have at least been a couple of small, but encouraging, signs over the past seven days.

A poor Leicester City side rolled into town on Tuesday evening with no other intention than shutting up shop, not getting beaten and boring the pants off the paying public.

Even with Burnley showing tangible signs of nervousness in the first 15 to 20 minutes, the Foxes showed absolutely zero ambition.

To the Clarets' credit, things looked up after the break. Steve Cotterill's men almost completely dominated possession. So much so, that the half Burnley were defending may as well have been cordoned off during the interval.

The problem was that, for all the Clarets were in control of the game, chances were still at a premium. The woodwork remained unrattled, goal line clearances were not made and the keeper's jersey was much the same colour at 9.50pm as it had been two hours previously.

And as so often happens in such circumstances, the team under the cosh made a rare foray upfield and were gifted a completely undeserved tragi-comic winner.

Still, at the least, the signs had been more positive. Which was just as well, given the fact that the next game was away to Colchester United. The U's play-off charge may have faltered in recent weeks, but make no bones about it, Layer Road remains, as Steve Cotterill put it, "a difficult place to come."

Prior to Burnley's visit on Saturday, Colchester had lost just two league games at home all season, having won 12 of their 17 Championship fixtures there.

Against such a backdrop, a 0-0 draw was a very creditable result. Clean sheets have been tough to come by this season.

"A solid performance" was how the manager described it. "The performances have been better from our lads."

Without wishing to state the blindingly obvious, what is now required is to turn those better performances into wins.

Despite the good point picked up at weekend, Burnley's cushion between themselves and the drop zone has been cut from seven to five points.

Crystal Palace show up at Turf Moor on Saturday with an indifferent away record.

The Clarets need to exploit that, get that elusive win and put some distance between themselves and 22nd place.