ROVERS 5 BURNLEY 0

AS Blackburn's top-of-the-range machine moved up a gear to power on towards the Premiership, Burnley chose the worst possible day for the wheels to fall off their bargain basement number.

The Clarets have spent money only on Ian Moore since gaining promotion from Division Two and can be proud of their efforts in nailing down tenth place in the higher level.

However, shopping in the sales can land only so many bargains and the gulf in class between Burnley and their turbo-charged neighbours couldn't have been more clearly illustrated than at Ewood Park yesterday.

"It always disappoints me when I lose football matches.

"But I've already told you, if I have Mini and you have a Ferrari there's only one winner," said Burnley boss Stan Ternent, whose side collapsed in the face of a second-half onslaught in which Rovers scored three times and could easily have had more.

"There wasn't a great lot to choose between the two sides in the first half I didn't think, apart from the two goals.

"Then in the second half when the third goal went in, the players did remarkably well to keep it to five I think," he added.

Burnley competed well enough before half-time but still found themselves two goals adrift thanks to a first goal in five years from Craig Short, who diverted home a David Dunn shot after 14 minutes, and an unfortunate deflection into his own net by Steve Davis following another rare raid forward from Short.

And Blackburn were in no mood to be charitable as they made the most of the platform by romping away after the interval with two goals from Matt Jansen and a late fifth from substitute Craig Hignett.

Burnley simply had no answer to the strikeforce of Jansen and Marcus Bent and the free-running of midfield men David Dunn and Alan Mahon as they were carved open time and again.

"I prefer to think that Blackburn played extremely well," Ternent said. "If you go through that side and the people who are on the line and who aren't even stripped you're talking an awful lot of money, probably seven years of my budget. So it isn't a level playing field sometimes.

"Jack Walker, God bless him, has got a lot to answer for today."

Blackburn's current wage bill is something like five times that at Turf Moor and Graeme Souness's men are now justifying that kind of expenditure to home in on a Premiership return.

However, Burnley's players aren't on peanuts and should have protected their goal better in the second half. The Clarets didn't get close enough to their opposite numbers and given the freedom of the park Rovers made them pay in the cruelest of fashions.

It was a case of Burnley's worst fears being realised as Rovers strutted their stuff and the Clarets failed to cope in front of 5,000 shell-shocked supporters.

Ironically, Burnley had played for much of the first half more constructively than they had at Turf Moor when they lost the first leg of the double 2-0 back in December.

Glen Little was prepared to run at the Blackburn defence, Paul Weller and Ian Moore both got in behind the Rovers back line and Gareth Taylor caused plenty of problems for the home side.

And had Taylor managed to beat Brad Friedel with an excellent header six minutes before half-time, Burnley may have had a glimmer of hope. Instead the big American made a stunning stop and from the rebound Moore was offside when he fired home.

"It was a magnificent save from Friedel and then of course Mooro got in and scored the goal and he disallowed it. If we come in at 2-1 it's different. The third goal of a match is a very important goal and unfortunately from our point of view it went to Blackburn.

"So then their tails are up, they are cock-a-hoop, slipping it about and playing really well," said Ternent.

Steve Davis also went close with a header two minutes later but by then Burnley were already chasing the game.

The early goal the visitors could so ill afford came after just 14 minutes when Burnley failed to close down Dunn after Nik Michopoulos had punched a corner clear.

To rub salt into the wounds Short then got his lucky bounce of Davis as the Clarets had waited for referee Alan Butler to give Rovers a free-kick.

Almost punished in the past for not killing sides off, Rovers made no mistake here and 10 minutes into the second half Bent gave Mitchell Thomas the slip and crossed for the impressive Jansen to make it 3-0.

Thomas was given a torrid time from Bent and Jansen proved equally elusive for Ian Cox and Davis. With Ternent throwing on Andy Payton to try and turn the tide, Burnley's wilting midfield was stretched further and after Mahon had twice gone close Jansen raced from almost half-way to add a fourth.

The Clarets responded by sending on Gordon Armstrong to try and tighten things up across the middle but by now Rovers were attacking at will and Jansen, Dunn and Bent all went striding through the middle without being able to find the killer touch.

There was to be no easing off, however, and substitute Craig Hignett was given the freedom of Ewood Park as he drilled home number five to complete Burnley's misery.

QUOTE: " If I have Mini and you have a Ferrari there's only one winner. " Stan Ternent, Burnley managers