EVEN as the Clarets suffered a stuttering start to the season, Sheffield Wednesday boss Terry Yorath could think of two good reasons why their fortunes would change - Stan Ternent and Robbie Blake.

The Owls take on Burnley at Hillsborough tomorrow and the former Wales boss is expecting another tough test for his side.

He has known his opposite number for many years while he worked with Blake at Bradford City as part of the coaching staff when the Bantams won promotion - and he is an admirer of both men.

"I talk to Stan quite a lot and people forget he has got so much experience," he said.

"He has been involved with so many clubs like Bradford City, Chelsea and Crystal Palace and you would always back him to succeed.

"He is battle hardened and he knows what the game is all about."

Yorath thinks Ternent has been hampered by the unrealistic expectations of fans based on the successes of the last two seasons, expectations that he is burdened with at Hillsborough.

"Unfortunately sometimes you get a team such as Burnley that has two great seasons as they have just had, when they are over-producing near the top of the league," he said.

"Stan is working with financial problems and a small squad and he is not in a position to go out and bring the new players in that he needs. He managed it for a long time last season when they were at the top but it is hard to sustain.

"The thing about us is that everybody here is used to being in the Premier League and so we have huge expectations. It is a big club, a smashing club but we have to get our heads around the standard of players we have at the moment."

One player he does admire is the Clarets £1million man and he explained: "The thing about Robbie is he is very skilful. He has got very quick feet but when I worked with him I always thought he was the type of player who needed to have an arm around him.

"When you watch him play you never know what he is going to do, he is very hard to defend against. He was great for us when Bradford got promoted and I am sure he will do well for Burnley."

Yorath was at Huddersfield on Tuesday night to watch the Clarets and he confessed: "To start with I could not make out the formation.

"But however they play you know they have got players that can win the game, people like Blake, Taylor and Moore.

"In fact Robbie had a couple of chances the other night and I have always felt he should score more than he does.

"The young lad that came on (Dimitri Papadopoulos) did very well and he has a lot of pace, something that will always make a striker dangerous. Pace can kill you."

Wednesday, who struggled against the drop all last season, are again in the bottom three and facing another season of toil.

Yorath, who has managed at the Swansea, Cardiff and Bradford as well as his national team, came back into management 11 months ago and did enough to keep the Owls up but he admitted: "The management side of the game has changed so much.

"Now you have more to do with the chief executive than the players, and it is hard."