IN the past Blues boss Trevor Francis has been reluctant to talk about the opposition, preferring to concentrate on his own side.

But last night, after seeing Burnley end a 100 per cent home record, he admitted: "They have made a fantastic start. They were very positive in their approach, coming here and playing 4-4-2.

"The only time they thought about protecting their lead was in the last 10 minutes but for 90 per cent of the game they were very positive.

"I think that having scored five on Saturday Stan probably thought he would stick with the same system. The fact is that Stan will have watched us in recent games and known we are not as secure as normal at the back.

"We have always had a strong foundation but our solid back four is not there at the moment. The loss of Darren Purse and problems for David Holdsworth have had a destabilising affect on the team."

And while he was unhappy with Martin Grainger's defending for Glen Little's first goal and the way Michael Johnson was beaten by Ian Moore for the second, he admitted: "They were two quite breathtaking goals, great shots from Little and Moore. They were unstoppable."

Ternent is also the type of manager who prefers to stick to his own side's display but the magnificent performance by Blues striker Andrew Johnson saw him become fulsome in his praise.

"He's a real handful, a very, very good player," he said. "The kid's definitely going in the right direction."

And Francis knows he has a real gem in the 20-year-old who is being called the Michael Owen of Division One.

"I don't know how many attempts on goal he had and when you play as well as that you should be the hero in a team that normally wins," he said. "The keeper made some good saves and he (Johnson) is very unfortunate not to be on the winning side."