BURNLEY boss Steve Cotterill is tantalisingly yet to decide who keeps goal for Saturday's Championship curtain raiser at Crewe.
Welsh number one Danny Coyne and Danish stopper Brian Jensen, who ended last season alternating games, have carried on sharing the duties in all five of the Clarets pre-season matches.
Both played 45 minutes in each of the three games in England before Jensen kept goal against PAOK Salonika and Coyne wore the gloves against Wacker Burghausen during last week's Austrian trip.
And Cotterill is keeping Crewe, and every Burnley supporter, guessing after admitting it is his toughest decision of pre-season.
"That will quite possibly be my toughest decision because there is not a lot in them," he revealed. "Danny and Brian both might outweigh each others strengths and to be honest, I'm thinking about playing both of them! But seriously, it is a difficult decision."
Cotterill could have another big decision to make at left full back for the trip to Gresty Road. Skipper Frank Sinclair deputised there in pre-season following the untimely injury to the versatile Danny Karbassiyoon, who underwent a scan yesterday to ascertain the extent of the hip and groin injury that has plagued him since signing from Arsenal.
Last Saturday, Graham Branch slotted into left back against Wacker to allow Sinclair to return to his favoured right side.
And although Branch could again get the nod this weekend, Cotterill admits he does not see the club's longest serving player as the short-term solution to his left back conundrum.
He said: "There is a thought and a theory that Graham can play there, but personally I think he is better up the pitch than defensively.
"If we get absolutely desperate and I need to put him in there - without being derogatory to Graham - I think he can fill in there. But I prefer him higher up the pitch and I think he prefers to play there too."
Meanwhile, teenage striker Kyle Lafferty was the star turn as Northern Ireland got off to a winning start last night in the Elite Milk Cup tournament in the province - a competition that has previously been a breeding ground for the likes of Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Damien Duff, Joe Cole, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman.
Lafferty, a key member of then national U17 side, scored a 29th minute debut goal in only his second U19 appearance in the 3-1 win over Serbia and Montenegro.
Lafferty, 17, who came off injured shortly after scoring, will hope to recover in time to face Brazil in the final Elite group game ahead of Friday's final in Coleraine.
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