STEVE Cotterill hopes Burnley can pick up where they left off when they return to Championship action against Leeds United tomorrow.

The international break has given the Clarets boss an opportunity to take stock of a hectic first two months of the season, where injuries have bitten hard and good fortune has often deserted him.

However, three successive victories before the two-week shutdown have raised spirits and left Cotterill keen to keep the momentum going.

"It was a good break and coming on the back of a couple of good results makes it a lot easier," said the Burnley boss.

"We were pleased with our form going into the break. We've had just one defeat in seven (games), conceded two goals in six and had three wins on the spin - two of which were in the league - so hopefully now we can pick that up before the next break.

"We had some momentum going and when you get a two-week break, you are a little bit 'fingers crossed' when you come back.

"So it will be important to start off the new batch of games with a good performance and there's no reason why we can't."

Cotterill welcomes back Keith Lowe for United's visit after the on-loan Wolves defender missed the trip to Molineux. He could also be boosted by the return of winger Wade Elliott following four games out with a badly sprained ankle.

And the Clarets boss will certainly need all hands to the pump entering a crucial phase of the season, with seven games in the next 22 days.

Cotterill said: "You do that all the time - look at the situation and the next six games, how many points you want from those games and where you expect to get them from.

"Unfortunately, you don't get them where you expect but as long as we keep on hitting that points tally, it will stand us in good stead.

"We've got Leeds, then Leicester and Crystal Palace. Then, after Aston Villa, there's Hull, Millwall and Luton before we get to the next break, so the games come thick and fast.

"But if you think about the last three - Ipswich, Wolves and now Leeds - they're almost Premiership games, so we know how tough the league is and we've had a few bad results we didn't think we deserved.

"But, as (Wolves manager) Glenn Hoddle said, 'we got that little bit of luck against Wolves'.

"Well, we deserve more than that and if we get that in the next five games it might equal the luck we haven't had this season."