THE chill January winds sweeping through the cold corridors of Turf Moor became a gale of fury today.

Angry and bitter protestations, morale seeping away quicker than the melting mid-winter snows, and a season fast approaching a defining chapter in Burnley Football Club's history.

It could be argued that defining moment was reached last night as Burnley tripped, stumbled and ultimately fell flat on their face in what proved to be one of the worst displays seen at Turf Moor for many a moon.

And on Brunshaw Road the boisterous voice of Turf Moor frustration boiled over in a demonstration aimed at both the under-fire manager and the board of directors.

If the staywaway fans - only 6,815 bothered to brave the Arctic weather - think the scoreline appeared shocking, I can assure you that was only half the narrative.

Because the Clarets were simply woeful against Oxford - a side, remember, who had not celebrated an away success in the league since a 2-0 win at York way back on April 22 1995!

No wonder their players were punching the air at the final whistle as the Clarets slunk away to the dressing room with the boos and catcalls ringing in their ears. Nine long months, and yet Oxford chose the once impregnable Turf Moor to dismember Burnley.

This was a match when Burnley needed the points more than at any time this season.

February is potentially a make or break month for their promotion aspirations with Blackpool, Crewe and Swindon waiting in the wings.

And while there is still just under half the season remaining, a performance of this nature remains deeply worrying.

The grim spectacle of fruitless long balls from the back was a sorry sight indeed for Burnley fans.

And Oxford, not surprisingly, sensed the opposition were there for the taking.

The Clarets never threatened Oxford enough to suggest that they were even going to score, let alone win the game and set their promotion push alight.

Burnley were outmanoeuvred and outfought by a bright and inventive team.

Denis Smith's side certainly gave watching Nottingham Forest manager Frank Clark plenty to chew on as he pondered an FA Cup fourth round tie next week. That, though, mattered not a jot to the home support who suffered a performance, while not as embarrassing as the 5-0 Auto Windscreens Shield defeat at Carlisle, equally as poor in commitment to the cause.

It hurts me to say it, because the Clarets first team squad are a steady and professional bunch of lads, but this was a night when nobody worked for each other as a collective unit.

When that happens you pay the costly price of defeat.

The defensive back line was pulled apart by Oxford, while the visitors packed the midfield to stifle any Claret threat.

Up front, Kurt Nogan never received the service he thrives on so successfully and Oxford's strapping centre-half Matt Elliott soaked up what Burnley pressure there was with ease.

It must have been a mighty painful inquest for manager Jimmy Mullen who declined to attend the post-match press conference with reporters waiting until 10.20 pm before they finally dispersed into the night without a word in their notebooks. What hurts the angry Burnley support, I suspect, is the decline since the fruits of First Division football were lost so painfully last May.

Here we have the nucleus of that squad and, quite frankly, they were made to look very ordinary by mid-table Oxford.

Is low morale and lack of motivation the root cause? The Clarets have the personnel at their disposal to gain automatic promotion.

Of that there can be no doubt, yet the consistency level has fallen well below what should be expected.

Oxford, in fact, exposed Burnley time and time again. The Clarets had just a handful of chances to show from a first half which the visitors dominated comfortably.

There was an early scare for the Clarets as skipper Peter Swan hacked David Rush's close-range shot clear.

Burnley could not break out in numbers and, when the Oxford goal arrived, it was simplicity in itself.

A Joey Beauchamp corner swung across the Burnley goal and Stuart Massey swept the ball home from eight yards out.

It was no more than Oxford deserved.

The Clarets, for their part, saw their best opportunity land at the feet of Andy Cooke after tremendous work by Kurt Nogan. Paul Weller was also unlucky to see his effort hit the sidenetting, with Nogan again the provider.

Oxford, though, piled on the agony for Burnley and substitute Chris Allen made the points safe.

Allen broke free unchallenged on the left flank, and after outpacing Peter Swan, thundered an unstoppable shot past Wayne Russell.

A clinical strike and one to savour for the tiny away support, now delirious in the Cricket Field Stand.

A sorry Burnley episode. Now major questions have to be addressed before the weekend trip to Brentford.

Otherwise, mid-table mediocrity and another stint in Division Two beckons for Burnley.

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