BURNLEY got off the mark with a 1-0 victory over Brentford, the bottom line being we should be grateful for that.

It was by no means an impressive performance against a side not only missing four of their first team but also last season’s top-scorer who was watching his new club from the stand.

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We did, however, look more defensively organised than in our previous three games — against Ipswich Town, Birmingham City and Port Vale — with both Michael Duff and Michael Keane providing a solid base in the middle.

Spending a club-record £6 million on aforementioned Brentford striker Andre Gray thrust Burnley into the national media spotlight again.

It is a vast amount of money for a player who was plying his trade at Hinckley Town just three years previously, and a figure that could quite easily secure an established full international. We must hope he lives up to his hype. If not, one of our surplus centre-forwards will be hoping for another chance to impress.

With the last bank holiday of the year coming up, and the fixtures computer giving us a favourable pairing at Bristol City, it looked like the perfect venue for a long weekend in the West. However, it seemed half the nation had the same idea.

Although the four of us booked up a good six weeks in advance, we struggled to find reasonably priced accommodation as the vast majority of places were full, meaning we paid double the price we would normally by booking in at the central Travelodge. The reason for this is Bristol is gaining a fashionable reputation as a cosmopolitan place to visit for all age groups.

Many museums, galleries, theatres and the Broadmead and Cabot Circus shopping centres are all within a short walk from a wide choice of diners that embrace the attractive floating harbour and marina. More importantly for a lot of football fans, Bristol has hundreds of pubs. And although it is only the eighth city in England in terms of population, a recent survey put it top for beer consumption per person nationwide.

Our four good men and true will be doing their best to maintain this top-of-the-league position. Then it is up to Burnley on the pitch to enhance their own league standing against former manager Steve Cotterill.