WITH nine points to play for in between now and Christmas Day, buying presents is not top of Owen Coyle’s to-do list.

But the Burnley boss admits he isn’t surprised that Turf Moor has become subject to transfer window shoppers.

Rumours linking Chris Eagles with Premier League strugglers West Brom and midfielder Chris McCann to Newcastle United circulated over the weekend after their reputations were enhanced amid the Clarets’ Carling Cup quarter final win over Arsenal.

But Coyle sees the situation as a blessing rather than a curse.

“It doesn’t concern me because I would hope that much bigger clubs than ourselves are looking at our players and admiring them, because if they are, and they are showing they are players to be admired on a regular basis, that then helps the team,” he said.

“I’m never worried about other clubs looking at and admiring our players.

“It’s obviously different when people take it a stage further and the interest becomes strong, but that’s hypothetical because nothing like that has happened at the moment.

“Chris Eagles is talented, he wants to be the best he can be.

“We’ve given him the opportunity to play week in, week out, and he’s taken that on board.

“It’s nice that your words don’t fall on deaf ears, but any credit goes to him, because he’s giving the performances that are making people sit up and take notice, and long may it continue.

“If he’s doing it, individually he’s performing and helping the team, that’s our goal.

“We want individual players playing at the top, but we want that for the benefit of the team. “What we have to do is make sure we’re performing, and whatever comes off the back of that, we’ll deal with in due course.”

Coyle knows both Eagles and McCann, among others in his squad, ultimately want to play their football at the highest level. But the ambitious Scot would, naturally, prefer it if they were to achieve their targets with the Clarets; and going into tonight’s game looking to strengthen their fourth-placed position against top six challengers Cardiff, promotion remains a realistic aim.

“I think, with every performance and result we’ve had, we’re deserving of where we are," said Coyle.

“I really believe we should probably have more points in the Championship than what we’ve got, but what we have to do is continue in the vein of form we’ve been in, with that work-rate and energy, and that will be the catalyst for us to keep winning games.

“Cardiff will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season, they’ve shown their quality last year by reaching the cup final, and I think they have some very talented players.

“They had a great result on Saturday, so they’ll come here boosted by that, looking to be moving up the table, and we have to make sure we’re at our best and replicate the form we’ve been showing."

The Clarets have been particularly impressive at home this season and will look to extend a run of 12 league and cup games unbeaten against David Jones' Bluebirds tonight.

McCann could miss out again as the illness which struck him on the eve of Saturday's win at Sheffield United threatens to keep him sidelined, while Michael Duff has little chance of recovering from the calf injury he suffered in the warm-up at Bramall Lane, which forced Coyle to shuffle his pack minutes before kick-off.

"We couldn't have envisaged the problems we had before the game (on Saturday). Sometimes those uncontrollables happen in football, but we still believed we could win the game," said Coyle.

"Regardless of the team we put out or the team that Sheffield United played they would put anybody under pressure. But we defended well as a unit and I thought it was a marvellous performance.

"Nothing is fazing them at the moment. Whatever's asked of them they're prepared to go and do it.

"The squad is big in terms of heart because they want to go out there and do their best for the football club, and I think the supporters can see that."