STEVE Cotterill plans to sit his players down next week and show them how good they really are!

The Clarets are back in autopilot mode this weekend for two gruelling games in three testing days.

After that, new boss Cotterill can take stock at the end of a whirlwind opening month to the season.

And whatever the Bank Holiday weekend has in store for his charges, Cotterill is already planning a pleasant antidote to the rigours of the training ground.

"I really don't think my players sense just how good they have played," he explained. "The games are coming thick and fast at the moment and I don't think we've had time to take a step back and actually have a look at things.

"Since I've been here, we haven't looked at one video or one phase of our play, so when things slow down it will be good to finally show them how good they've been in phases.

"Everybody shows people when they have made bad mistakes, but I think you can show them when it's good.

"So when we can get a few tapes edited down and the games slow down, we will have an easy morning and show them how good they have been over the past month."

The seeds for an encouraging start to life under Cotterill have been sewn on the road, where the Clarets have yet to concede a league goal.

Stout defending, notably by central pairing Frank Sinclair and John McGreal, have been key in earning the stalemate at Watford, which was then followed by a solitary Ian Moore strike that saw off Watford at Vicarage Road.

And it has been the attitude in gaining those away points that is delighting the demanding manager.

"People say we have frustrated teams away from home, but that's because we've had the ball," Cotterill insisted.

"We haven't frustrated them because we've just sat there and not gone and taken the game to them.

"So we'll carry on doing what we've been doing - certainly more of what we did against Wolves because it was our best performance for 90 minutes, capped by a brilliant Robbie Blake goal.

"The players have been magnificent. They've trained hard, got themselves into a good sharpness, they're nice and fit, and hopefully we can continue that at West Ham.

"It's been a tough month, but we're unbeaten and I would take that every month, that's for sure.

"I'm delighted so far, but we are only a few games into the season and we don't want too many plaudits handing out at the moment.

"But I'm certainly not going to warn the players about any first defeat, or talk about it. We will just prepare as we have done up to now and see what fortune rains down on us."

Tomorrow's trip to Upton Park is something of a trip down memory lane for Cotterill, whose grandparents were staunch Hammers fans.

So there will no doubt be a tingle in the spine when the Clarets run out in front of one of the biggest crowds they will encounter on their travels this season.

"We all look forward to going to places like West Ham, absolutely," insisted Cotterill. "It's one of the great clubs and I remember being brought up on West Ham and Arsenal, who my nan Em and grandad both supported.

"She was born in Stepney and went to all the West Ham games and the speedway down there.

"So it's nice to be going down there and it's just a pity she's not alive to see it, bless her."