Goalless games are a welcome change for fans

TO BURNLEY supporters, clean sheets are like buses -- you spend ages waiting for one and then three turn up at once.

While fans of most teams would be bored to tears at the prospect of paying to watch less than riveting goalless draws, Clarets die-hards are currently lapping it up.

There were certainly no complaints from those who made the trips to the JJB and the Walkers Stadium. Burnley have now conceded an astonishing one goal in five league games on the road.

Or, put another way, they have been breached just once in seven and a half hours of football away from Turf Moor.

The main reason this is so enjoyable is that it is in stark contrast to the last couple of seasons when opposition strikers regarded a game against Burnley as an opportunity to either fill their boots or rediscover their lost goal-scoring touch.

It's an achievement made all the more impressive when you look at the calibre of strikers Clarets backline has been pitted against.

Dean Ashton of Crewe and Wigan's prolific pairing of Roberts and Ellington have a combined total of 21 goals from 20 games this season, yet against Burnley they scarcely got a sniff.

And that's another point -- the Clarets have not been merely hanging on in these games. We haven't seen efforts hacked off the goal line, posts and crossbars being constantly hit or a host of last-ditch tackles being made.

Generally, Burnley have been comfortable.

If there is a slight frustration, it lies in the fact that whilst the Clarets have been defensively sound on their travels, they have hardly caused panic amongst opposition defences.

In the league, their sole goal has been Ian Moore's header at Watford.

Yet Cotterill is canny enough to know that the first priority was to sort out Burnley's shocking defence. Build a sound base and the rest will follow.

In any event, the Clarets could have won both games. Branch and Valois went close at Wigan, whilst the Frenchman is adamant his scrambled effort crossed the line at Leicester.

Back to the here and now, and a big week lies ahead. Tonight's visit of Wolves is a tough but winnable Carling Cup tie.

Should Burnley replicate the performance they gave in the league against Wanderers, they have every chance of progressing to a potential money-spinning tie in the next round.

Meanwhile, Saturday sees Stoke pitch up at the Turf. The Potters have had a great start to the season, yet away from the Britannia Stadium have only managed two goals.

But before a ball has been kicked one imagines both Barry Kilby and Dave Edmondson will have smiles on their faces -- Stoke are sure to swell the coffers with a big following. Let's send them home miserable.