"HOW much do you want it Burnley?" the guy yelled, his face crimson with rage, his voice raw from his passionate exhortations.

On this evidence the answer had to be, not nearly enough.

All week the Beeb had run trailers for last weekend's FA Cup ties. "Great drama from the BBC" they trumpeted. Heaven knows what Sunday's sorry surrender would been billed as, "capitulation in the Cotswolds" perhaps? Or what about, "Woe at Whaddon Road?"

This defeat -- among the worst in recent memory, was dire for any number of reasons, and raises a number of disturbing questions.

For starters, why have lessons not been learnt from humiliations suffered at the hands of previous Cup catastrophes?

The likes of Darlington, Scunthorpe and Rushden and Diamonds should all have served as warnings that Cheltenham would raise their game and fly out of the traps like men possessed.

So why did Burnley fall so pathetically short in terms of endeavour, commitment and desire -- the three cornerstones on which Stan Ternent has built so successfully in recent times, and three qualities which should be taken for granted in any professional footballer.

After all, the supporters were prepared to put it in.

Around 2,000 of us got up at the crack of dawn to make an eight-hour round trip at considerable expense, hoping the Clarets would give us a good day out. More fool us.

Instead we got Ian Cox and Arthur Gnohere, both capable of excellence, treating the fourth round of the FA Cup like a light training session.

We got Gareth Taylor and Ian Moore bullied out of the game by the more determined Cheltenham centre backs. In other words, we got short-changed.

But then we've been getting short-changed since the goalless draw against Millwall, which was the last time a Burnley side worthy of the name, bothered to show up.

Since then we've taken a thumping from Manchester City, been bored senseless at Wimbledon and rolled over and died against Sheffield Wednesday and now, Cheltenham Town.

It's time some key players such as Tony Grant, Alan Moore and (to a lesser extent) Glen Little gave us the performances which they owe us from the last few games.

Because this is Burnley Football Club. And when you pull on the famous claret and blue, you'd better be prepared to play your heart out.

This season can still be a successful one, but it's like the guy at Cheltenham said, "How much do you want it, Burnley?" Taking the claret and blue in vain