CHRIS McCann wasn’t the only one pinning his hopes on Burnley making it to the play-offs. But the midfielder had an especially vested interest in the Clarets prolonging their season.

After battling back from major knee surgery in August, his campaign has only just begun.

He joked about the number of times people had commented that he wouldn’t be ready for the season to end tomorrow, with the visit of Cardiff City. But the sentiment is two-fold as, collectively, the Clarets dreamt of a top six finish, only to fall agonisingly short.

Defeat to Leeds United last weekend consigned them to another Championship battle come August – unless, of course, QPR are docked sufficient points as punishment for fielding a player with a third party owner and Burnley finish the season in seventh.

“Play-offs was the plan. Obviously everybody’s disappointed that we’re not there,” said the Dubliner, who has kept his place in the side since making a goalscoring return away to Derby four games ago.

“There’s nothing we can do about that now.

“We had a number of chances to come and put points on the board that we didn’t do.

“Next year it’s going to be the main aim for us to get into the top six, if not the top two, and I think we have the squad to do that.”

There are likely to be amendments to those troops over the course of manager Eddie Howe’s first summer at Turf Moor. But it is hoped McCann will be able to pick up where he hopes to leave off when Burnley bow out of 2010/11 season against the Bluebirds tomorrow.

After two injury-plagued seasons, the Dubliner has been offered a new contract.

Although it is as yet unsigned, McCann has thanked boss Howe, and the club, for showing faith in him as they look ahead to the future. And he has vowed to come back all the stronger following his long-standing injury nightmare.

“It’s a big season personally,” said the 23-year-old of next season.

“I think I have shown I’m all right in the games that I have played and I think I’ve shown that I have recovered fully.

“I don’t think I need to prove myself to anybody. I think I’ve done that before. It’s just, for me, it will be a big season personally to say that I’m back and that I have overcome everything and I am okay.

“For me, more than anyone else, it will be a big season.

“There’s one there for me which just shows how much the confidence the club has, and I thank them for standing by me at this time.

“We’ll just see what happens. I want to get it sorted as soon as possible and go away in the summer with everything ready to go when I come back.”

With a mid-season change of manager, did he ever worry that he would be left in limbo this summer?

“There were talks all along, even when Brian Laws was here he said there’d be something there for me, and then when the gaffer came in he said there’d be something there for me as well,” McCann explained.

“It was never really anything I’m going to worry about.

“It was just me getting fit and coming back and proving to everyone that I am fit was a bigger concern for me.

“Once I did that and showed that I can play everything else would take care of itself really, as it is doing now with the contract situation.

“For me, I just had to stay to focused on getting myself fit and back on the pitch and playing well. I’ve done that now so hopefully everything starts falling into place.”

He added: “I think I’ve done it right, coming back and playing the four games that I have so far, with one to go.

“I think that’s probably the right amount of games that I should have played with the injury that I had. But on the other hand I kind of wish we were just starting the season or that there were another couple of games or 10 games to go until the end of the season.

“It will just make me more eager to come back next season and hit the ground running.”