BURNLEY'S cock-a-hoop players are looking forward to a well earned rest -- but not without keeping half-an-eye on next season's First Division campaign.

The Clarets earned themselves an extended holiday when they snatched promotion from Gillingham on Saturday to avoid the play-offs, which for Second Division clubs culminate in a Wembley final on May 28.

And while a bit of rest and recuperation are the first things on the agenda, there is evidently a feeling in the Turf Moor camp that the club can at least hold its own at the higher level.

"When you look at it over the past few seasons the teams that have gone up have struggled, like Bury, Crewe and Walsall.

"So it is difficult. The exception is Man City, and Fulham have done okay but they are two big clubs.

"We look at ourselves as a big club and so, hopefully, we can take the step up," said winger Glen Little, who is looking forward to his first crack at the First Division after scoring the winner at Gillingham which sealed Burnley's elevation.

He added: "We are going into the unknown so you never know.

"But we're up, we're happy and who knows there might be a few new signings to come in.

"The board has been brilliant ever since Mr Kilby and Mr Ingleby have come in and maybe they might put a bit more money in and we sign a few more players and have a good go next year."

Chairman Barry Kilby has already pledged that there will be cash available for manager Stan Ternent to strengthen his squad.

And skipper Steve Davis believes things will be different from the last time Burnley went up in 1994, when a lack of investment led to their immediate relegation. "You can't really compare it to when we went up before because the structure of the club has changed. We are hoping that we can manage to consolidate, and then you never know.

"The manager's built up a good squad of experienced players who can not only play at this League but can handle the First Division as well, so we will look forward to getting in there and seeing how good we really are," said Davis, who was a member of Jimmy Mullen's side in the mid-nineties during his first spell with the club. And another member of the Clarets' squad looking for better fortunes on his return to the First Division is Dean West.

The full-back went up under Stan Ternent at Bury but after an injury plagued time also tasted relegation two years later.

Naturally, he is delighted to be back.

"I played four games (in Bury's first season up) then got injured for over a year. Luckily I made 20 appearances in the First Division the following year and I'm looking forward to playing there again.

"Promotion, you can't beat it. It means everything to us.

"We were well behind but we always knew that if we could put a run of results together then we could catch the leaders," said West.

And the Clarets, looking forward to a civic reception tomorrow night, are still revelling in their triumph.

"It's brilliant for the club, the supporters and the whole town. It's what we've been aiming for and it's just unbelievable that it's come off.

"We've been on an unbelievable run. We won seven out of eight and to pick up those points and keep playing under pressure and grind out results having gone 1-0 down a few times has been a fantastic roller coaster of a trip really," Davis added. Little, however, admitted that chasing points at the top of the table was preferable to a repeat of recent relegation battles.

"When you're down there and you need a win to stay up, that's pressure," he said.

"I'm not saying it's been easy to go up, because it's not. It's a long slog.

"But I don't feel we've been under any pressure. We've just enjoyed the season, probably felt the play-offs was where we could get to and the automatic would have been a bonus.

"With seven games to go we said we had to win all seven to go up. In the end we've won six and it's been enough.

"Wigan, Bristol Rovers and Millwall will probably say they've blown it to let us in but that's not our fault, we've done our job.

"We've had a right good go at it in the last six or seven weeks and it's paid off for us."

And wing-back Graham Branch also savoured the success and a return to the First Division he left behind when moving from Stockport County to Turf Moor 18 months ago.

"It's unbelievable. I've never had a feeling like this in football.

"I've been playing quite a long time but to go up, and the way we've done it after being so close to going down last season, is an unbelievable feeling," he said.