BURNLEY'S first win of the new campaign was marred by an injury to Steve Davis, who could be sidelined for up to three weeks.

Davis picked up a calf strain as the Clarets beat Chesterfield 2-1 with an Andy Payton penalty and a headed goal from Lenny Johnrose to get among the Second Division's early pace-setters.

And manager Stan Ternent confirmed today that he will have to plan without one of his most influential players for the next few games.

"I called in yesterday to see how he was and I will know a bit more later today but it's looking certainly that he could be out for two or three weeks," said Ternent.

And Davis's absence from the heart of the defence will cause a headache for the Burnley boss, who is already without Chris Brass as he recovers from a hernia operation.

"It just goes to show that we aren't really as strong as people think if we get a couple of knocks. If it happens to key players it can be a problem," added Ternent, who does have the likes of Gordon Armstrong and Ronnie Jepson to call on at centre-half if he keeps Davis's replacement in-house.

Jepson came on for Davis on Saturday and Armstrong started his first game of the season at sweeper as Ternent returned to the 5-3-2 formation that finished last term unbeaten in 11 games.

And although Burnley didn't play well they did what mattered and got their home programme off to a winning start, despite some late scares following a disputed Chesterfield penalty.

"We won but it certainly wasn't one of our better performances," Ternent admitted. "At the end of the day it was three points and certainly there's room for improvement.

"I felt that the players got anxious in trying to please the crowd, the crowd got anxious and I thought the referee made everybody anxious. But it's three points so we've got four from two games and I'm happy in that respect."

He added: "We could have been more convincing winners. It certainly wasn't a vintage Clarets performance by any stretch of the imagination but the win was important for us - especially on the back of 5-0 in mid-week. I had a sorting out job last year and we've got a lot of new players this time. It certainly isn't an excuse, it takes times to gel.

"So in the meantime results will breed confidence. And at the end of the day you can't do better than get three points. So all-in-all it was a good afternoon's work with plenty of room for improvement."

While Glen Little was left out of the starting line-up for reasons of form, Andy Cooke started on the bench as he was not 100 per cent fit following a knee injury. And Ternent revealed that his re-called captain had also been a doubt the day before the game. "Gordon Armstrong's been in bed for two days with flu but he got off his sick bed and played so we were down to 14 on Friday night.

"But they've had a go, we've shared it out and it's come out of the wash quite well in the end," the boss added.

Burnley opened their Football League Youth Alliance programme with a 2-2 draw at Wigan, both goals coming from Alex Kevan.

Former Clarets midfielder Mark Ford is playing in the Belgian First Division after agreeing a two-year deal with Lommel, who lost to Antwerp yesterday after winning their first game of the season.

And Carl Smith, also released from Turf Moor in the summer, has joined Unibond League Premier Division side Worksop Town.

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