THE Clarets defend their 100 per cent away record at Birmingham City tonight against a side that has won all of its home games.

So something will have to give but Burnley's assistant manager Sam Ellis insisted the table-toppers are ready for the challenge.

"We will play anybody anywhere," he admitted as he looked forward to the trip to St Andrews.

"We are afraid of no one but we respect everyone and we know it will be a difficult game for us. They are all tough games.

"It is always a hard place to go, they are a good side and we lost by the odd goal in five last season. They have been very consistent over the last four years, getting into the play-offs a couple of times, and the match will be a good yard-stick.

"We are not getting carried away by being top of the table but we are enjoying it."

Striker Gareth Taylor, who netted his second of the season against Walsall, also knows it will be a tough test against the Blues.

"They are a strong side at home but we are very confident at the moment," he said. "I remember when I came up with Manchester City we looked at the other teams and thought we would be doing well to stay up. Then we ended up winning promotion."

Ellis is delighted with the side's current strike rate, averaging almost three goals a game, but what impressed him most was their response to being pulled back to level after squandering a two goal lead.

"We were really pleased with the attitude they showed, they never give in and they are never beaten," he enthused.

"And it is not just the fact that we are scoring a lot of goals, we are missing chances as well. Let's just hope we can keep it going."

Never change a winning side may be one of the oldest sayings in football but Stan Ternent has the luxury of being able to shuffle his pack should he want to.

"We have got Gordon Armstrong to come back from suspension and it is a credit to the whole squad that we have lots of possibilities," said Ellis.

Lee Briscoe played his way into contention with his match winning display as a substitute on Saturday and he will be hoping for a return to the starting line-up.

But Ellis said that the match would be too soon for Paul Weller who is still struggling to recover from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the Walsall game having scored for the Clarets against Rotherham a week earlier.

After the disappointment of the fans' reaction to the replacement of Ian Moore by Briscoe on Saturday, Ellis is expecting typically vocal support by more than 2000 Clarets fans who are making the trip down the M6.

"If the crowd feel they have to complain then they will but we really need them behind us," he said.

And if the players keep scoring at the current rate that is exactly where the rest of the division will stay, behind the Clarets.