CLARKE Carlisle insists a shock home defeat to Millwall hasn’t dented their top six ambitions.

Instead the Clarets captain described Saturday’s 3-0 loss as a “kick up the backside” and has vowed to get back into the winning habit against Coventry tomorrow.

Three points from the first of two games in hand will close the gap on sixth-placed Nottingham Forest to just one point, with 10 games to go after that.

But missing out on the chance to leap into those play-off positions for the first time in four months following Saturday’s defeat was a bitter pill for Burnley to swallow.

“That’s a setback and what we have to do is feel the pain, because losing hurts, and we have to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” said Carlisle.

“There’s still no doubt in my mind that we can make the play-offs.

“(Saturday) could be the veritable kick up the backside we needed.

“Everyone will be focused tomorrow night to make sure we don’t feel like this again because losing is a horrible feeling.

“We were in control of the game when Millwall scored so we need to make sure that we’re ruthless.

"When we do have those spells of pressure we need to make sure we make the most of it, we take advantage and we score our goals when we’re on top.

“And when we’re under the cosh, that’s when we need to make sure we’re focused so that we don’t concede, and that gives us a chance to win the game.”

And, having gone into Saturday’s game on the back of three consecutive wins and two clean sheets, Carlisle warned against complacency after Burnley suffered their first home defeat of the calendar year.

“Even all the other results show that you can’t be complacent in this league,” said the central defender, with reference to Swansea’s loss at Derby, and goalless home draws for Leeds United and Nottingham Forest.

“If you turn up and think ‘we’ll go out and get three points’ you’ll get slapped.

"You really will get a wake-up because every team in this division is strong, they will battle, and you have to win that battle before you can impose yourself on the game, and we didn’t win the battle on Saturday.”

He added: “We’ve got really talented players in our team yet we didn’t get hold of the ball, we didn’t pass it at all, and attacking wise we didn’t feel like we were a threat.

“The manager wanted us to go out there and really impose ourselves on the game, be brave, get hold of the ball and try to pass it about.

“We started off the second half exactly like that and we were caught with a sucker punch, but when that happens we need to be able to recover from that and react to it and have a positive response.

“We didn’t do that, and that’s something we’re going to have to look at.”