WILL the atrocious 5-0 defeat at Wycombe Wanderers prove the catalyst for the most significant clear out of playing staff at Turf Moor for several years?

One aspect is distinct: several Burnley players are performing for their futures against relegated Rotherham United tomorrow.

The shambles at Wycombe was embarrassing in the extreme and a bombshell to everybody connected with Burnley, in view of the gravity of the fixture.

What bigger incentive did Burnley need at Wycombe with a play-off place there for the taking?

So what conclusions can you draw from Tuesday night? The scoreline was distressing enough, but it was the very nature of defeat which proved the most tormenting factor.

It was a rout of such magnitude which will surely change Adrian Heath's long-term strategy for the club.

He was visibly shaken by the first half debacle and, I understand he was ready to keep the players on the pitch at half-time, such was his fury at Adams Park.

This week he gave the first hint of his possible intentions, observing: "I have to make sure that never happens again. If that means a change of personnel in quite a few positions than that will have to be done.

"Performances like that influence my thoughts and decisions for Burnley and the people I want to work with me at this football club.

"The most embarrassing part for me is that, ultimately, that performance is a reflection of the manager. "That embarasses me to think that people associate me with people who play like that."

He added: "I've always played with my heart on my sleeve and given everything I've got. I expect the same back from my players.

"No manager can guarantee a win or a great performance, but what I should be able to guarantee is that the players will have real go for each other and not give in.

"I'm not sure I'm getting 100 per cent from them all the time. You should be able to count on that."

To witness several fans heading for the exit gates quarter of a hour before half-time, and several jeering their team back on to the pitch, is not acceptable for a club with such a vibrant and intensely loyal following.

If you could have seen the sense of bewilderment and, indeed, shame on the faces of those 700 fans at Wycombe who saw Burnley so clinically demolished by a team struggling against relegation, then that surely underlined the enigma that is Burnley on their travels.

Yet again, that underlined the fatal flaw in Burnley's mental strength away from the safe confines of Turf Moor.

But we've gone down this road before haven't we?

So what is the next course of action?

Heath has stood by his senior professionals this season but, despite definite progress since last summer, the manager remains exasperated over their abilities to compete physically on their travels.

Has he gone as far as he can with several of the players he inherited from Jimmy Mullen a year ago? It certainly appears that could be the case.

Heath added: "There were one or two home truths spoken in the dressing room after Wycombe. Things had to be said and they definitely were.

"I've defended my players after narrow defeats at Gillingham, Millwall and Bristol City.

"But I could not defend them after Wycombe for one second. What went on was completely unacceptable and I fully understood the reaction of our supporters. I can only apologize to them." It is a situation that the management team must address with great urgency if Heath is going to build on the foundations he has begun to build at Turf Moor.

Admittedly, he has more room to manoeuvre in the close season, with several players out of contract.

That gives Heath the option of clearing the decks and a potential infusion of fresh blood if the finances are made available by the board of directors to provide the capital to fund a shake-up in the overall squad picture.

Play-off prosperity or another season of Second Division - it could be a momentous summer at Turf Moor.

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