BURNLEY manager Owen Coyle’s preparations for the visit of Championship leaders Birmingham have been hampered by injury, with the defence the worst-hit area.

Michael Duff (side) and Clarke Carlisle (back) had been unable to take part in training this week until yesterday, while a strain has also sidelined midfielder Alan Mahon, who is a major doubt for tomorrow.

Stephen Jordan’s one-match suspension also adds to the problems, but with Christian Kalvenes and Remco van der Schaaf available, Coyle insists he has options.

“It might be the case (that there are square pegs in round holes), but we’ve had to do that before. We’ll juggle them about, and take it from there,” said Coyle, who revealed the two-week break for internationals had been a blessing in disguise.

“Given the amount of games we’ve had, I think it was important there was a break, to give the boys some rest and try to marry that in with some training.”

“We know the break is there, and you have to plan ahead and use it, and we’ve tried to use it.

“In one sense, it’s ideal, because we have had a few injury concerns, last week we would have been struggling to put together a very strong team.

“But that’s the nature of the game, and we have people to come in and do a job.

“We’ll continue to work to the best of our abilities, and we have players to go out and win Championship games on a regular basis.”

He added: “Kevin McDonald played 45 minutes for the reserves and got a little bang, and we felt it would be folly to carry on, in case we aggravated it but we’ll look at it in training.

“Remco played an hour, and given that we’ve got a few knocks, he comes into contention, he’s looking stronger, and he needs match-time.

“Grezza (Graham Alexander) has been outstanding in that position, so sometimes you bring players in, and someone else ups their game, and he has had to be patient.

“But there’s no doubt when the chance comes along, he’ll be ready to take it.”

But Coyle admitted it is unlikely he would be able to delve into the loan market to strengthen his troops.

“At the present time, in terms of finance, we probably won’t be able to go and bring someone else in,” he said.

“If there was to be a development with loans, it would be with players going out. We would love to be able to bring a couple in, but with finances the way they are, we would probably have to alleviate that by, maybe, one or two going out to free up some money.”