"WE'LL have a better idea of where we stand after the Easter period" claimed a friend last week.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out like that. Because following the games against Walsall and Watford, the only thing Burnley supporters can be certain of is, well, uncertainty.

The Easter weekend summed up the Clarets season in a nutshell.

At the Bescot Stadium, Burnley bossed the game from start to finish, the scoreline failing to reflect the visitors' dominance. And on Saturday evening, Clarets supporters were beginning to dare to feel optimistic.

Then, a little over 48 hours later, that same cautious optimism was dashed as Burnley turned in their second consecutive dreadful home performance.

If that didn't have you choking on the remains of your Easter Egg, nothing will.

Far too many players turned in poor performances.

Robbie Blake has carried the Clarets at times this season and we all know where we would be without his goals. But against Watford he was invisible for most of the game. Not that he was helped by a marked lack of service from his team mates.

Glen Little was desperately out of form and Tony Grant, who has been outstanding since the turn of the year, struggled to get his passing game going.

Elsewhere in midfield, Lennie Johnrose did nothing to warrant the rousing reception given to him by the Turf Moor faithful. His influence on the game was negligible.

Luke Chadwick had a frustrating afternoon. Introduced into the fray for the injured Neil Wood, he had a hand in Burnley's opener, but wasn't on the pitch long enough to exert much more influence.

His withdrawal in the second half was puzzling in that Ternent threw on Adebola - a striker who thrives on the kind of crosses put over by Chadwick.

But it was the Clarets defending, or rather lack of it, that ultimately cost them. With every game that passes by, the decision to give away Arthur Gnohere to QPR looks more and more foolish.

No one doubts that Graham Branch gives his all for Burnley. But most doubt that he is a central defender.

The captain was at fault for Watford's first and second goals. At the final whistle he cut a morose figure. Bent double, with his hands on his knees and his head bowed, his confidence is shot.

The manager remains upbeat, maintaining that we will be playing in the same division next season.

Burnley may yet surprise us and return with something from Saturday's trip to Cardiff, but the likelihood is that the Clarets make or break week will occur in a fortnight when they host Derby and Wimbledon in the space of a few days.