BURNLEY face being without a clutch of big names for this afternoon's Boxing Day Championship clash at Barnsley.

The Clarets were without Andy Gray (foot), Frank Sinclair (calf) and John McGreal (hip) in Saturday's 0-0 draw against Derby County at Turf Moor.

And Steve Cotterill's depleted squad suffered a further blow when goalkeeper Danny Coyne suffered a hamstring injury in the early stages of the match.

The Welsh international limped off after 17 minutes, to be replaced by Brian Jensen, and is now a major doubt, along with Sinclair and McGreal, for the trip to Oakwell.

"Danny has been feeling a hamstring all week," said Clarets boss Steve Cotterill.

"I think it was the right decision for him to put his hand up and say he needed to come off. We will assess that one.

"Brian would have been on the bench anyway because we were down to the last 16 players.

"Frank Sinclair has a calf injury and John McGreal a hip injury and they were never going to be fit."

Cotterill admits he would love a repeat of the War of the Roses display that floored Barnsley in their thrilling last meeting.

Gifton Noel-Williams came off to smash a memorable hat-trick as Burnley recorded a thumping 4-2 win in September's meeting with the Yorkshire outfit.

Since then, the Reds have sacked Andy Ritchie and are now under the reigns of caretaker manager Simon Davey.

"Obviously, it was a great game here that night and we are looking foward to having the same type of game again," said Cotterill."

"Whether they are still playing the same way, because of a new manager, we don't quite know.

"But we are looking forward to going away from home. It's not too far, which is good for our supporters because I'm sure we will have a good turnout.

"We'll be looking to get three points on the board there."

Cotterill revealed he would not scrap the Boxing Day fixture which has become part and parcel of the English game, although he is concerned with the amount of games over the festive period.

In the past, a number of managers have lobbied for a winter break during the football calendar to mirror several other domestic leagues on the continent.

If that went ahead, it would probably spell the end of traditional Boxing Day matches.

Cotterill said: "It's very much of a tradition in our country.

"I just think if we have a bad week of weather, you've got a month's worth of football - Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday - later on in the season to try and fit all the games in.

"I don't know whether it's a month's break that you take, like some (other countries) do, and end up playing almost all year round.

"I'm sure that managers and players would like to enjoy a bit of a Christmas break.

"But those that do get two weeks off work end up going back to work overweight and have to punish themselves down the gym, whereas we don't have to do that!

"All in all, it is what it is. It would be nice to have perhaps not so many games crammed in.

"But I've got no problems with Boxing Day or New Years Day. It's sometimes the games sandwiched in between."

Cotterill added: "We are relatively lucky this year in that there's not so much travelling in between games with Barnsley and Hull.

"If you've got a couple of bad journies, for instance Ipswich or Norwich away, it would be a nightmare.

"I'm just pleased that we are not flying anywhere this year. It's a big bonus for us because that could have thrown us into a bit of chaos.

"We are relatively lucky with our Christmas fixtures."

l Burnley will host Luton Town in the FA Youth Cup fourth round on January 10.

The game, at a venue yet to be confirmed, will kick off at 7pm.