IT MAY be the season of goodwill, but brotherly love will be put on hold at Gigg Lane on Boxing Day for a potential clash of the Armstrong family.

Burnley skipper Gordon Armstrong will be one of half-a-dozen pla yers in the Clarets squad who have played for the Shakers making their return to Bury.

And waiting for Armstrong will be younger brother Chris, who forced his way into Bury's senior set-up for the first time last weekend and will be hoping to retain his place on the substitutes' bench.

Teenager Chris is a highly-rated scholar at Gigg Lane after following the same route into professional football as Gordon and plays in the same position as his older brother is currently filling in the Burnley back four.

And Armstrong senior, who spent a couple of months at Bury with Chris before following Stan Ternent to Turf Moor in August last year, also hopes that his brother is selected again.

"He is actually a left-back as well and it would be lovely if he was involved.

"I think they've had a couple of injuries, but he's only an apprentice so he's done well to get in.

"He played for Newcastle schoolboys like me. He's got a chance. He's only 17 so it's brilliant for him to be involved with the first-team," said the Clarets captain, who will nevertheless be hoping to pull rank and keep Burnley's promotion challenge on course with a third away win of the season.

"He did stay with us for a while but four or five months ago he went into digs and he's happy up there.

"We had him over for dinner on Wednesday and he's been winding me up a bit, but we'll see," Armstrong added.

Mid-table Bury are in a state of flux with financial problems and no permanent manager following the departure of Neil Warnock. That's all a far cry from when they won successive promotions to reach the First Division under Ternent in 1997, when they included in their ranks current Burnley players Armstrong, Dean West, Lenny Johnrose and Ronnie Jepson. Peter Swan subsequently joined the club, and Graham Branch had a loan spell at Gigg Lane earlier in his career.

"Everybody knows it's not a big club but we had a good set of players. People didn't realise what a good set we had with David Johnson, Chris Lucketti, Paul Butler and Dean Kiely and obviously a few lads who are at Burnley now who are good players as well.

"We had a nucleus of a good side and if we could have kept that side together it would have been a top side, but it wasn't to be," said Armstrong, who is still expecting a difficult game against a team currently being run by senior players Andy Preece and Steve Redmond.

"It will still be a tough game. They are never an easy team to play, especially at their place.

"It's a hard place to go and get a result so we expect a tough game. But we are playing with a lot of confidence and we don't really fear anyone," Armstrong added. Burnley will be without the suspended Paul Cook, but apart from Alan Lee report an otherwise clean bill of health with a couple of days training to go - including Christmas morning.

"It's the day before a match so we will be training. The lads understand that. They've been in the game long enough and they know the job," said Ternent.

Burnley are producing a special commemorative matchday programme to recognise the club's great players of the past as part of their millennium celebrations.

The programme will be available at next Tuesday afternoon's home game against Oxford United, the last game at Turf Moor this century when Jimmy McIlroy will also open the stand named after him and there will be parades by the 1960 Championship winning squad and the 1968 FA Youth Cup winning team.

Accrington Clarets are laying on extra transport for the game at Bury. Anyone wanting to book should contact Phil Miller on 01254 387230.

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