JUST hours after the Clarets had somehow contrived to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory, half of Brighton's famous pier fell away into the sea. Debate is still raging amongst the locals as to which was the greater collapse.

No, I know it's not particularly funny, but then neither was conceding a well-earned two-goal advantage to the division's second worst side -- just ask those hundreds of Clarets who made the arduous trek to the Withdean Stadium and forked out about £50 all told.

"The first goal was like a punch in the kidneys, and the second one like a nail in the coffin," said Brighton manager Steve Coppell in the post-match press conference.

Yet they could just as easily have been the words of Stan Ternent. Instead he described the manner in which the two points were lost as 'a shock to the system'.

Rather more contentious was Ternent's assertion that all in all this was a good point. Well, it might have been at three o'clock, but it certainly wasn't come ten to five.

Equally dubious was his assertion that not many sides would emerge from the Withdean Stadium this season with anything to show for their efforts. Given that the Gulls have lost eight and drawn three of their 13 home games this season, this is at best a questionable viewpoint.

The Christmas period seemed to embody Burnley's season to date. Against bogey side Wolves, the team showed commendable fighting spirit, turning in a tigerish performance to deservedly claim three points.

They showed similar spirit against other top sides such as Leicester, Norwich and Nottingham Forest, playing some eye-catching football along the way. Indeed of the top six, only all-conquering Portsmouth and surprise package Reading have beaten us.

But then there is the flip-side, as witnessed on Saturday. Brighton have taken four points from us. Grimsby and Preston took all three. And the less said about the debacle at Bradford the better.

The end of the year sees the Clarets sitting in 12th position -- exactly halfway. And if truth be told, it is probably where they deserve to be.

Inconsistency means that when you pitch up to watch Burnley, you have just as good a chance of seeing the lads shoot themselves in the foot as you have of seeing them produce some of the best football seen at Turf Moor for many a year. And let's be honest, who wouldn't have settled for the current state of affairs at the end of August when the Clarets had registered one point and one goal.

In closing, might I take this opportunity to wish all readers of this column all the very best for 2003.