TOP gun Andy Cooke left Chris Waddle purring with pleasure after his ruthless Glentoran demolition job, writes TONY DEWHURST.
The bruising Clarets centre forward was in hot water with his new boss after an ugly second half incident with Glenavon goalkeeper Dermott O'Neill 48 hours earlier.
But Cooke gave Waddle notice of his goal potential with a sparkling double at the Belfast Oval as Burnley wound up their four game tour of Northern Ireland unbeaten.
"We saw the real Andy Cooke against Glentoran," said a delighted Waddle.
"It was nice to see Cookey blossom after the other day.
"I had heard a lot about the lad before I came to Burnley without ever seeing him play.
"Cookey plays a physical game and he has got a lot of strength and desire.
"It's probably taken him a few games to feel settled with a new management team in."
Cooke will miss the first three games of Burnley's new campaign - and Waddle concedes that is an early blow to his plans.
"We'll just have to look at other permutations but it is a big disappointment to be without him for the first week."
Waddle, though, was delighted with Burnley's display - their most accomplished of the tour.
And he took another opportunity to experiment with his line-up. With Cooke ploughing a lone furrow up front, the player-manger deployed himself in a fluctuating midfield role around Paul Weller, Chris Vinnicombe and Damian Matthew.
The strapping figure of Steve Blatherwick was handed the centre-half role with Marco Gentile and Mark Winstanley alongside.
Glentoran play deep inside the fiercely loyalist east side of Belfast. And the 100 or so Burnley fans in the province were greeted by sights of giant Protestant paramilitary murals with bus stops, pavements, road and roundabouts painted in red, white and blue.
Individual union jacks adorned house gables and reminded the casual visitor all too clearly of the deep religious divides in the city.
There was disappointment for Glentoran fans who had keenly anticipated the return of Glen Little. The match day programme ran a centre spread feature on the Burnley winger who joined the Clarets from the Irish League part-timers for £100,000 last November. But a hamstring injury had put paid to his return.
Glentoran's old stadium lies in the shadow of the giant Harland and Woolf shipyard, builders of the ill-fated liner the Titanic.
Yet the giant cranes which dominate the Belfast skyline, a half away mile from the Oval, were barely visible in the incessant rain and sea mist.
It was Glentoran - managed by former Clarets favourite Tommy Cassidy - who made the early decisive running.
First Colin Nixon created danger for the Clarets, before Marco Gentile - whose uncle Claudio had once played at the Oval for Juventus in a Cup Winners' Cup tie in the 1970s - made a timely interception.
Indeed, Glentoran should have taken an early lead when Marlon Beresford was left stranded as Rory Hamill chipped John Devine's slick through ball over the target.
Then Glentoran made the breakthrough they had been threatening.
Andy Kirk prised open a static Clarets defence and substitute Andy McBride kept his cool with a clever lob.
However, Glentoran's lead was short-lived as Burnley levelled before stepping up a couple of gears.
Glentoran's marking was non-existent as skipper David Eyres fired in a pin-point centre for Cooke to deliver a powerful header.
The result was never in doubt after that and Glentoran could simply not cope with Burnley's slick passing game and quick-fire movement.
Seven minutes after half-time Burnley forged ahead. Damian Matthew saw his neat skills take him past two defenders before driving a slick shot against the foot of a post.
A Waddle-inspired move gift-wrapped Cooke's second.
Waddle substituted himself a minute later to a generous ovation. Gareth West featured in an unaccustomed striking role before the arrival of Ian Helliwell - his first senior appearance for over a year.
Cooke then turned provider for Paul Weller to complete the rout 18 minutes from time.
A highly satisfactory week for Waddle and assistant manager Glen Roeder. Burnley's new signings have adapted to their environment and the fixtures in the province gave Waddle valuable time to experiment as he continues to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the players he inherited from Adrian Heath.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article