It's the season for giving

I KNOW Christmas is a time for giving, but this is ridiculous.

On the pitch, the Clarets could not have been more charitable if they had donned red suits and false white beards.

Off it, manager Stan - or should that be Santa - Ternent, shrugged off his training ground altercation with David May to hand the Sun reporter who splashed it all over the back pages a signed copy of his book.

It all made for a bizarre day in the life of Burnley Football Club - and not too many people left Turf Moor in a festive frame of mind.

In short, the Clarets can ill afford to gift opposing teams all three points in such a slipshod manner. Everything was in place to provide a spot of Christmas cheer before two tricky away games at improving Preston and Crewe.

Struggling Coventry were rolling into town in turmoil following player/manager Gary McAllister's shock, but entirely understandable decision to stand down for personal reasons following his wife's battle with cancer.

Burnley, on the other hand, were riding high on the back of a four-game unbeaten run and had just bolstered their squad with the timely addition of Jay McEveley.

Saturday morning's jaw-dropping back-page headlines no doubt levelled the playing field somewhat, but whatever their private thoughts the Burnley players still had more then enough experience and know-how to put all the shenanigans to one side and concentrate on the matter in hand.

Maybe it's no coincidence, given the player at the heart of the alleged fracas, that the one area of the field the Clarets struggled to keep their composure was in defence.

Even without David May, available again after suspension, the entire unit looked far more vulnerable than it has for many a week.

Elsewhere, Ternent's troops huffed and puffed, but rarely threatened to blow Coventry's house down and put a positive spin on a troubled few days of their own.

Things might have been different if Burnley had scored following a blistering start. But the ease with which Patrick Suffo was allowed to turn and roll home the opener soon after, followed by the comical Paul Weller own-goal that he will want to forget in a hurry, provided the two defining moments on an afternoon - and a weekend - to forget.

Things even started in Keystone Cops manner as Richard Chaplow - who ironically might have been on the field for Weller were it not for suspension - received a hurried Player of the Month award just seconds before kick off.

His replacement wasted no time in trying to make an impression though, lunging at Ian Moore's second minute flick and stabbing the ball agonisingly wide at the second attempt from close range.

Luke Chadwick soon fired a volley narrowly over as the Clarets continued their early assault. But with their first foray upfield, Coventry silenced the fervent home support with a goal of sickening complacency.

Suffo reacted first to a bouncing ball on the edge of the area, turned inside Mark McGregor and drilled the ball through a ruck of bodies.

Keeper Brian Jensen - so impressive lately - went down in instalments and never looked like stopping the ball rolling gently into the corner of his goal.

The response from the home side was equally lacklustre as Weller, Mo Camara and McGregor all failed to find the target with free headers.

In fact, it took 35 minutes to force former Burnley goalkeeper Gavin Ward into his first piece of evasive action. The Sky Blues stopper did just enough to smuggle Robbie Blake's snapshot for a corner following another Moore flick from Jensen's long punt.

However, just four minutes later, the hole Burnley dug for themselves got deeper. And Weller must have contemplated throwing himself in as he bizarrely stooped to head Andy Morrell's tame right wing cross into the net past his own startled keeper.

Half time came with a corner count of 11 to nil in favour of the home side - some measure of Burnley's dominance and all the proof you need that goals change games.

The other statistic of note was a booking for Glen Little in stoppage time, the fifth of the season to leave him kicking his heels when Stoke visit in two weeks time.

He will be joined in the stands by Arthur Gnohere, who picked up his second red card in a month with a late block on Stephen Warnock as Burnley chased the game.

That they had a chance was down to Blake, who briefly illuminated a dark day with his 12th goal of the season seven minutes into the second half.

City could only half clear a corner to Tony Grant, who picked out the striker on the right side of the box with a sublime pass. Blake took it in his stride, dropped a shoulder, shimmied back inside and drilled a deflected shot under Ward's despairing grasp.

Just how many goals has Blake added to his total through deflections this season? And what would Burnley have given for one more as Coventry's defence, marshalled magnificently by towering centre back Calum Davenport, soaked up the mounting pressure with increasing determination.

Davenport even threatened to dent the scoresheet at the right end with a looping header that Jensen expertly tipped over for a corner.

But largely, the pattern mirrored the first half, with the Clarets setting up base camp in the City half. Unfortunately, as Ternent later accepted, they left themselves just too big a mountain to climb.