BURNLEY midfielder Jack Cork wants to make February a big month as the Clarets seek to pull further clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

A run of five unbeaten games has helped Sean Dyche’s side move out of the bottom three and they now have a four-point gap to 18th placed Cardiff.

The Clarets are level on points with Saturday’s opponents Southampton and Crystal Palace after the pair drew 1-1 in midweek.

And Cork knows the importance of the weekend home clash with the Saints, especially with fixtures against Brighton and Newcastle on the horizon.

“We have to dig in, make this a big month for us and get as many points on the board before last five/six games of the season which look tough,” said Cork.

“We realised at the turn of the year we needed a big push and we needed to change things. Hopefully we have.”

Saturday’s home game with Southampton is followed by a trip to the Seagulls, currently three points clear of the Clarets, while Burnley also visit St James’ Park this month to face a Newcastle side one point above Sean Dyche’s side as things stand.

And Cork wants to head into the clash with Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men in confident mood despite surrendering a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Manchester United on Tuesday night.

“We’ve got 14 games left and it’s a great point really, it keeps us four points above Cardiff,” said Cork of the midweek result.

“They now need a win and a draw to catch up with us. It’s not easy when you’re chasing at the bottom of the table.

“We’ve just got to push on and draw other teams like Brighton in, maybe Bournemouth, and try to involve as many teams who are in and around us.

“It’s a massive point,” he added of the Old Trafford draw. “It’s gutting how it turned out but everyone would have taken a point before the game, especially with the form they’ve been in and the way they’ve been playing.

“They completely out-played Arsenal at the Emirates.

“It’s a good result, it’s cruel, but these things happen. Hopefully we’ll get a bit of luck soon.

“Someone said it (the equaliser) might have been a little bit offside. We had the one against Watford and I think this one was similar, touch and go.”