STEVE Cotterill had warned of the consequences if all 11 players do not perform to the peak of their powers.

Victories are inevitably beyond them and it becomes a battle to pick up precious points.

That, in a nutshell, sums up another frustrating day at the office as the sum of Burnley's parts failed to equal a pretty ordinary Sky Blues side.

When everyone in Cotterill's camp is on their game, snapping away at a high tempo and winning individual battles, the Clarets have proved to be a match for most in arguably the most competitive division in the land.

However, when three or four dip below the standard needed it really does become a struggle for supremacy.

And when your options are so worryingly limited, the whole balance is thown askew.

The central defensive positions remain a great source of strength, despite the endless, enforced permutations never allowing for a settled unit.

The anchor players in central midfield also continue to battle away, most notably Micah Hyde whose level of performance varies so little from week to week.

It's the ever-changing scenario around the heart of the side that continues to hamper Cotterill in his quest to find the winning formula.

The likes of John Spicer, Wade Elliott and Garreth O'Connor are still novices at Championship level and, as the manager himself admitted, need to be dipped in and out as their performances fluctuate.

With all three being attack-minded players, the knock-on effect is that Burnley suffer creatively when one, or all, are off key. Even bit-part players like Danny Karbassiyoon, who has been forced to wait patiently for a chance, failed to give Cotterill food for thought when an early opportunity to shine presented itself at the Ricoh Arena following Graham Branch's early departure through a hamstring injury.

With so few alternatives already there for a battle-hardened manager, failures to grasp nettles hardly help.

Suspensions and such loss of form have bitten hard in the past few weeks and, emphasising the shortage of players at Cotterill's disposal, youth team goalkeeper and second year apprentice Mark Crossley was named as a substitute for the first time in the Championship.

Garreth O'Connor's ankle ligament injury also meant there was a place in the 16 for Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty, fresh from a taste of League Two experience at Darlington and making the Clarets squad for the first time since September.

The 18-year-old signed his first professional contract before Christmas along with fellow teenager Chris McCann, who has certainly grabbed his opportunity with both hands in a startling emergence.

And it was McCann who almost gave the Clarets the perfect pick-me-up five minutes into their first visit to this grandioise, but characterless Arena.

The former Home Park midfielder was a real positive on an otherwise dimal day and when Branch found him sneaking into the box unmarked he brought a smart save from Marton Fulop with a fierce shot that just lacked direction.

The bright start continued as Branch, operating on the left hand side of a five-man midfield, played a neat one-two with McCann but side-footed his 12 yard attempt well wide.

City were struggling to cope with Burnley's pressing, but sadly the attacking flurries quickly dried up and in the 15th minute only a magnificent block by Jon Harley denied City's Andy Morrell.

Buoyed by their first foray forward City pressed again and Branch got the benefit of the doubt when he appeared to flatten Andrew Whing in the penalty area close to the by-line.

City were now forcing the pace and a lucky ricochet fell perfectly for Stern John, who was only denied by a superb tackle by last man Michael Duff.

But fortune swung back Burnley's way before the break when Frank Sinclair's horrible sliced clearance flew across goal but thankfully the right side of Brian Jensen's right hand post.

However, as is often the case following a goalless first half, a decisive moment early in the second changed the face of the game completely.

Burnley failed to clear the umpteenth free kick in the early stages and when John nicked the ball from Spicer to whip in a right wing cross, Dennis Wise and Morrell both got headed flicks to leave former Burnley loan striker Dele Adebola the simple task of slotting the ball home unmarked at the far post.

The Dane had no chance, but he performed minor miracles afterwards to keep the Clarets in the hunt.

Panic reigned in the Clarets box on the hour after John nipped in ahead of Sinclair. His initial shot from a tight angle was blocked at the near post by Jensen, who then sprinted across goal to somehow block James Scowcroft's point-blank effort at the foot of the other upright.

City were now going for the jugular and Scowcroft thumped a close-range header off the foot of the post from a corner, then saw his instinctive follow-up brilliantly blocked on the line by Jensen.

A brave double substitution with 20 minutes remaining, with Gifton Noel-Williams and Lafferty replacing James O'Connor and Elliott, at last eased the pressure and put Burnley back on the front foot.

And a brief spat between Sinclair and mouthy old pal Dennis Wise, which ended up with both in the book, offered more evidence that Cotterill's Clarets were not about to lie down without a fight.

But as the clock ticked mercilessly down a tiring Michael Ricketts could only fire weakly at Fulop and in stoppage time it was left to Sinclair to conjure up the visitors' best effort of the day with a terrific volley from 25 yards that was inches too high.