Wycombe Wanderers v Burnley - Peter Oliver's big match preview

WHILE Wycombe Wanderers don't seem able to score a goal to save themselves, Burnley just can't stop hitting the back of the net.

In their last five games Wycombe have scored twice, compared with the 17 goals plundered by the Clarets over the same period.

And much of the credit for that must go to Andy Cooke, who is in the most productive spell of his fledgling career.

Eight goals in five games not surprisingly represents his best scoring sequence and he is just one goal away from beating his best return in a season - the 13 he notched last term.

The Clarets' striker is not especially superstitous but is keen to get off that mark at Wycombe's Adams Park tomorrow as he bids to score for the sixth game in a row, a run interrupted by a two-match ban.

Cooke did not set himself any specific targets at the start of the campaign, apart from the one which he is poised to surpass.

"I didn't really think about it, I just wanted to score as many goals as I can but I did want to score at least as many as last season," he revealed. There is no magic formula to Cooke's success or the partnership with Andy Payton which has been so fruitful.

The 24-year-old, whose pace, aggression and eye for goal will not be going unnoticed in higher places, puts it down instead to sheer hard graft. "Everyone had said we had been a bit unlucky but we were still working hard and if you put that effort in, the rewards will come in the end."

The pair currently look one of the most potent strikeforces in the division, although Fulham's Paul Peschisolido and Kyle Lightbourne and the rotating forwards at free-scoring Bristol City might disagree.

And with the rest of the Burnley side also clicking into something like top gear, the fear of relegation will quickly become a thing of the past if the Clarets can maintain their current form.

"We know the situation we are in. It's very tight and if we do slip up we could be back to square one but we don't look on those points. We are positive and looking to go up the table," stressed Cooke.

"Wycombe lost again on Tuesday night and, while they are not a bad team, they are not having a good time at the moment. We are playing them at the right time and, hopefully, we can capitalise on that.

"We are not looking at getting beaten and three points could put us up with them as it did at Preston last week."

"The teams we have played over the last couple of weeks have just been dipping. We have played them at the right time so hopefully everything is falling into place."

That could certainly be said of Cooke at the moment and if he has anything to do with it the flow won't dry up.

"I just want to see my name on the scoresheet," he said. "It's a great feeling, scoring goals."

Previous sport story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.