AH well, all good things come to an end and so it was on Saturday.

The Clarets' impressive 12-match unbeaten run ground to a halt against a Portsmouth side which, inspired by the brilliant Paul Merson's creative promptings, looked as good as anything we are likely to see in this division, this season.

As Clarets boss Stan Ternent remarked in the post-match press conference, there was no shame in losing to a side as good as the visitors.

It was, inevitably, disappointing but there was certainly no need for an inquest. Furthermore, with the benefit of hindsight there are a couple of consolations that may be drawn from the defeat.

Firstly, and most obviously, we will not play Portsmouth, or indeed teams of their calibre, every week.

Secondly, Burnley may have lost 3-0, but the scoreline cloaks certain truths. The reality of the matter is that until Beresford's costly slip midway through the second half, any one of three results was possible.

Marlon's mistake coupled with West's penalty miss were the key moments of the game.

This is not to suggest that Pompey were not good value for the points, merely to illustrate that after a lacklustre opening half from the Clarets, they competed well for the majority of the second period.

Nevertheless, a defeat is a defeat, and Burnley will be keen to bounce back as quickly as possible.

Tonight's trip to the seaside represents an excellent opportunity to do just that. Second bottom and on the wrong end of a 4-1 hammering at Molineux on Saturday, the Mariners appear to be there for the taking.

What we don't want is a repeat of last season, when the Clarets went three goals down before most supporters had finished their fish and chips. Burnley found it tough when visiting most of the division's perennial strugglers last season, as anyone who had the grand misfortune to witness the inept display at Walsall last season will tell you. Let's hope lessons have been learned.

Looking further ahead, Saturday brings the first of two appearances in five days on the magic lantern.

In recent seasons, Deepdale has proved a happy hunting ground for the Clarets.

Last season was particularly satisfying.

Having had to endure several renditions of "Town Full of Dingles," King Arthur silenced the home crowd by waltzing unmolested through the catatonic North End defence to slam home the winner.

A repeat performance would be more than welcome.