PRIOR to Saturday, it had been almost three weeks since the Burnley public were entertained by their team at Turf Moor. After Saturday they were still waiting.

Some nil-nils provide great entertainment: end-to-end football, near misses and moments of great skill.

But on Saturday the best move of the game came as full-time loomed, when the fourth official raised his board to indicate there would be only one minute of added tedium.

Not even the sublimely skilled prodigal son, Glen Little could do anything to set the pulse racing, suggesting that Burnley FC most definitely had the best out of him.

If the bore-draw proved anything, it served to underline that Robbie Blake's departure has left two gaping holes in the side, we are without either a creator or goal-scorer.

A central midfield of O'Connor and Chaplow will not be matched for industry, but goal assists will be few and far between.

And with the best will in the world, "prolific" is not the first adjective that springs to mind when describing Ian Moore.

Steve Cotterill's problem is that the kind of players he needs are the ones with the biggest price tags.

The other option is on the loan market, but there again, free-scoring strikers and players with the ability to unlock defences are rarely leased to other clubs.

Another headache for the manager is the possibility of Richard Chaplow being sold to West Bromwich Albion. The rumour was rubber-stamped by Cotterill on Saturday who describes the situation as "delicate" with the ball, "in West Brom's court."

Following Blake's recent departure, the loss of another important squad member would be a bitter blow. Heaven knows what Cotterill must be thinking. One of this provisos on taking the job was that players would not be sold.

Yet, should the sale go through Burnley would do well to keep James O'Connor as part of the deal. The midfielder does a similar job to Chaplow and would be a good permanent addition to the squad.

Meanwhile, the Clarets finally get their shot at FA Cup glory this evening. On the face of it, Liverpool are clear favourites.

But then this is the FA Cup and strange things do happen.

All the ingredients are there for an upset. Liverpool's form is hit and miss, Rafael Benitez is unlikely to field his strongest side, we have a ropey, partially re-laid pitch, the weather forecast is substantially less than appealing, Sky are sending their cameras along and we have not conceded at home since November 9 -- and that was against Spurs.

Whatever the outcome, one thing is absolutely certain -- the game will definitely be more entertaining than last Saturday.