BURNLEY goalkeeper Brian Jensen has been praised for his patience and performances since stepping in for Danny Coyne.

The Danish stopper earned recognition from Clarets boss Steve Cotterill after his three clean sheets in a row sent Burnley to Plymouth Argyle today in buoyant mood.

Jensen, an ever-present last season, had to wait until late October to grab his first team chance, after number one Coyne suffered a detached tendon early in the 3-0 defeat at QPR.

Since then, Burnley have won four out of five Championship games, including a trio of shut-outs against Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Millwall.

"Brian's done very, very well and we're delighted," insisted Cotterill. "It was evident from day one that I brought Danny in to play and I'm sure there were days when Brian was diving around in goal, working hard with Danny and thinking he was working hard to keep Coyney fit to play.

"Then the injury happened, Brian got thrown on in difficult circumstances at QPR and could easily have had three goals put past him like Danny.

"But to be fair to him, since he's come in he's been a big presence and he's been consistent so far."

Jensen picked up his fair share of criticism last season, when trivial mistakes following his arrival from West Brom led to goals that cost the Clarets crucial points.

But as Cotterill points out, such mistakes will invariably always be punished when you are the last line of defence.

He added: "Brian has had a couple of scary moments, but then so did Danny. When I watched videos of last year's games, there were some where he would be outstanding, and then, perhaps through a little lack of concentration, drop a rick.

"But we've all dreamed of being footballers and it's the last place you would want to be in. It's the worst position on the field."

Meanwhile, John McGreal was today celebrating after being named as the PFA Fans' Championship Player of the Month.

McGreal, 32, battled through the pain barrier for much of November, struggling with a calf injury that limited him to just three appearances.

Yet the award is well deserved and long overdue recognition for his part in transforming one of the leakiest defences in the country last year into one of the tightest in the Championship.

The award, featured on the PFA website, is voted for by supporters of all clubs and McGreal joins Chelsea's Arjen Robben, Hull City's Stuart Green and Paul Hayes of Scunthorpe United as the divisional winners.

As the Evening Telegraph went to press today, there were no further developments on the situation surrounding Robbie Blake, who was the subject of an impovred £600,000 bid from Wigan Athletic yesterday, which Burnley rejected.