WITH Clarets fans praying for the win that could revive the club's flagging fortunes it is probably appropriate that they travel to Vicarage Road tonight to take on Watford.

There was the unmistakable sound of boos drifting across Turf Moor last Sunday when the faithful last gathered to worship but there was a louder sound as I made my way down the stirs to the press room.

It was the scraping of nails on scalps as Burnley fans scratched their heads in an effort to come up with an explanation for how things have suddenly gone wrong.

And I suspect that was the sound coming out of the home dressing room as the players, manager and coaching staff also try to find out why it is once again a bleak midwinter for the Clarets.

It was before Christmas that I had fans coming up to me and saying it was a good job the team was putting points on the board because "this is the time of the year when we are rubbish".

As a diligent reporter I felt this was something that needed confirming and last week the Lancashire Evening Telegraph highlighted the problems that Stan Ternent's sides have had at this time of the year for the past six seasons.

Now clearly I am no doctor but in my time as a journalist on a morning paper I got enough opportunities to see countless Richard and Judy shows dedicated to SAD syndrome - Seasonally Affected Disorder to you and me.

If the players are suffering from it, it is certainly affecting their season.

The gist of it is that people's characters are affected by sunlight deprivation ending up feeling depressed, listless and generally under the weather.

Now it may just be me but hasn't it rained virtually everyday this year with blue sky as scarce as Clarets league wins in January.

It is enough to leave me miserable and I spend much of my time in front of a computer in a warm dry office with black coffee on tap.

The club's Gawthorpe training ground is pretty much a blasted heath when the wind blows and the rain lashes down.

The Burnley boss has twice brought up the subject of having a winter break, getting away and grabbing some sun to break up the unremitting misery of dark mornings and short afternoons and he could well be on to something.

It is either that or forget buying another player and just set up a new solarium at Turf Moor to give the players a boost.

Watford have just come back from a break away in the sun aimed at halting their own poor run. Despite that, Burnley must hope that it is the Hornets left feeling SAD at 10pm tonight.