WELL, the first thing to say is that no one should be shocked by Saturday's result.

Teams promoted from League One (or Division Two and Three as it has variously been known), quite often have the powerful force of momentum behind them.

One recalls John Toshack's Swansea City side flying up the divisions many moons ago, Graham Taylor's Watford gaining back to back promotions and, of course, the Clarets under Stan Ternent very nearly stormed the play-offs in their first season at this level.

With that in mind, it was probably as bad a time to face a team like Scunthorpe, who were hosting their first home game at this level for 43 years, as it was a good time to face a team like West Brom last weekend.

Defeat at Glanford Park was far from calamitous, but it meant that what had been a good week for Burnley ended on a sour note.

By the end of Tuesday night, for example, it was difficult to know what to be happier about, that the Clarets had progressed to the second round of the Carling Cup, or that they had managed to do so fielding a side which featured nine changes, with only a small dip in quality here and there, from that which had beaten West Brom on the Saturday.

Yet the Clarets' new-found ability to employ a bona fide rotational system, was small beer compared to the news which broke 36 hours later.

When it was reported that Southampton were on the verge of signing Wayne Thomas for £1.2m, all but the most deluded Burnley supporters laughed it off.

When Coventry were reported to have offered £200,000 for Thomas' services over the summer, most fans would have thought it a decent piece of business. To receive six times that amount for a player with less than a year on his contract, who missed a good chunk of last season through injury and who, throughout his career, has been on first name terms with the card which lives in the referees' top pocket, is an astoundingly good piece of business.

True, Thomas had shown good form towards the end of last season, but if silly money comes along, only a fool would decline it.

Finally, welcome to the club to Clarke Carlisle. A proven performer at this level, the 6' 3" stopper should prove a like-for-like replacement for the departed Thomas - and at a fraction of the price.