STAN Ternent is relishing being closer to home this Christmas!

The Clarets have clocked up their fair share of motorway miles in recent years as the erratic fixture computer has thrown up a glut of unpalatable offerings.

Last season Burnley were sent to Kent to face Gillingham just four days before Christmas, then forced to make another gruelling eight-hour journey to the south coast to face Brighton on December 28.

The 2001-02 schedule was equally unpleasant, with a dreaded visit to Millwall on December 22 quickly followed by another trek south to face Wimbledon in the opening away game of the New Year.

In fact you have to look back a season further for the last time Burnley looked local for some festive cheer.

In 2000-01, Ternent's troops hosted Blackburn and Bolton in derbies before crossing the Pennines to play Barnsley in their only away festive fixture.

And the Clarets chief believes this year's Christmas crackers - a Boxing Day visit to Crewe before a home game with Stoke City - should become more the norm.

He said: "Everyone wants to get out on Boxing Day and watch a game of footy and the wives will be glad to see the back of them, but if the game is away in Kent or somewhere it is a bit difficult.

"This is the first year for sometime that we have not had to make lengthy trips.

"The ideal situation is to get good crowds and derbies guarantee that.

"I think derbies should always be at holiday times, that is traditional. No-one wants to be travelling all over the country over Christmas, do they?"

Ternent does have something to cheer about though, following the news that his book 'Stan The Man' is up for the literary version of the Oscars!

The biography has been making waves again recently due to plug's in the national press.

But this week - for all the right reasons - 'Stan the Man: A Hard Life in Football' was nominated for the coveted Sports Book of the Year and Biography of the Year categories at the annual British Book Awards.

However, straight-talking Stan typically preferred to give the literary accolades to the books author, Daily Sport editor Tony Livesey.

He said: "Tony rang me and told that we were up for a couple of awards, but I am the wrong man to be asking about that.

"Tony wrote it and I just told him what had happened.

"It is flattering and I just hope we win some awards with it."