CHRISTMAS is the time of giving but I hope that doesn’t extend to the Clarets over the festive period.

Sure, I’d love Sean Dyche and the lads to serve up a treat for the fans but I hope that’s where the generosity stops.

We certainly don’t need to be gift-wrapping points for the opposition.

Ok, ok, I’ll stop with the Christmas word play now.

But seriously, this time of year isn’t called silly season for nothing – the games come thick and fast and absolutely anything can happen.

We’ve got a tough run with a visit to Everton and home games against Manchester United and Aston Villa but I’ve always been a believer that you have to play each side twice over the course of the season so there shouldn’t be any difference what time of year it is.

Before we get fully into the Christmas spirit though we have a trip to the seaside and a reunion with old boss Eddie Howe.

Howe has done a fantastic job at Bournemouth but we do seem to have had the upper hand over him in the last couple of years.

We know from a defensive point of view they can be vulnerable but then again before the 1-0 win over Newcastle last weekend, we’d conceded a shed load of goals in the previous three games in a tough week.

The performance against Newcastle wasn’t sparkling by any stretch of the imagination but Dyche has spoken a number of times about winning ugly and that’s what we did.

I have a feeling we might need to do the same this weekend.

We have the players to play attractive football at times but when the backs are against the wall, three points are three points.

Dyche has already said Chris Wood and Ashley Westwood are touch and go for the match which does worry me slightly.

We just don’t seem to tick properly without Westwood in the middle of the park and it continues to be a puzzle we’ve not found an answer to yet.

Wood got the winner last week and his partnership with Ashley Barnes has been great again this term.

We have options in that department – Jay Rodriguez and Matej Vydra could both fill the role – but, again, Barnes seems to be at his most effective when the Kiwi is alongside him.

Having key players missing isn’t perfect but Dyche is keen to see his fringe players step up and I hope they’ll do that this weekend to give him a Christmas selection headache.