Cold, Windy but Safe

The recent run of defeats brought out the pessimists and doom mongers but they are suddenly silent again with the Clarets now having picked up eight points from the last four games and have left any late season battling to the likes of Millwall, Crewe and Brighton.

Today's game was never going to be a classic, there was a strong wind, the pitch wasn't good and the opposition never gave any suggestion they were interested in winning the game. Having said that it should have been better than it was and there was very little good football played for long spells.

It needed an early goal but in the end there were just over ten minutes left when the goal did come, Andy Gray's third in three home games for the Clarets, his fifth in six games on the Turf, and there was no doubt that it was going to see us to all three points.

The goal was created by Alan Mahon with a superb ball through to Gray and having gone clear he finished well giving veteran goalkeeper Paul Jones no chance. It was only fitting that Mahon was involved in the winner, he'd provided the best of the football during the afternoon and had come closest to scoring prior to Gray's goal.

He nearly lit up the first half with the first real chance of the game after a quarter of an hour. Again he linked with Gray, this time the striker playing the ball to him, but then it was all Mahon who curled in a left footed shot from the right hand side a few yards outside the box.

It looked a goal all the way but Jones somehow got his fingertips to the effort and turned it round the post at the expense of a corner. A rare piece of quality football in a first half that was disappointingly lacking in good football.

QPR hardly threatened, they hardly looked interested in going forward and never created anything remotely like a chance. If this is the sort of quality they have apparently found since they put Ian Holloway on gardening leave then I suggest they get him out of his garden and back to work just as soon as possible.

They did defend well at times but on occasions they were thankful for our carelessness going forward. Michael Ricketts got clear down the right hand side but he dillied and dallied so long the chance was gone.

Any other good football and Mahon was involved but more than once we just weren't able to finish off his good approach work and we had to go in at half time with the scores level although in the closing minutes of the half Brian Jensen was finally called into action but got firstly saved from Marc Nygaard and then got down well to deny Gareth Ainsworth a shooting opportunity.

Nothing much changed at the start of the second half but Steve Cotterill decided enough was enough and brought on Wade Elliott for Ricketts and in a reshuffle he pushed Mahon further forward, and his work almost got us in front again but having got the ball to Gray the striker's shot was deflected for a corner.

If the first substitution had helped then the second one I thought really made a difference with Micah Hyde coming on for Branchy. We started to play that bit better, we started to pass the ball around more and this was our best spell of the match.

QPR just weren't in it at all now as we pressed forward and eventually the goal came and from then on the result was never in doubt. The visitors did get a shot on goal in a rare attack but Jensen saved easily and we had no problems at all in keeping the lead and picking up the three points that took us past fifty points.

The result lifted us three places, including climbing above QPR and on today's game you wonder just how we had ever got ourselves below them. They looked a poor outfit, with no adventure and little quality and although we were far from our best we were much the better side.

There were some good individual performances. Captain Frank Sinclair was in good form again at the back and it is no wonder the stats show that he is our most reliable and influential central defender. I thought Phil Bardsley had a much better game and James O'Connor showed again that he's right back in form.

But for me today it had to be Alan Mahon – he was involved in every bit of good football that was played and it was only fitting that he was involved in the goal. I've always rated him and from what I've seen since he became a Claret, he's going to be a very good player for us.

So, just like last season, a win against QPR has seen us mathematically safe. The season is almost at an end with just four games to go and thankfully that awful run of results is behind us. They must have, the rumours had already started today on who is being signed for next season – and all 24 names I was given looked quality, it is going to be a hell of a squad !!!

The teams were,

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Phil Bardsley, Michael Duff, Frank Sinclair, Jon Harley, Alan Mahon, James O'Connor, Chris McCann (John McGreal 87), Graham Branch (Micah Hyde 65), Michael Ricketts (Wade Elliott 55), Andy Gray. Subs not used: John Spicer, Garreth O'Connor.

QPR: Paul Jones, Marcin Kus (Steve Lomas 66), Danny Shittu, Ian Evatt, Mauro Milanese, Gareth Ainsworth, Richard Langley, Marc Bircham (Scott Donnelly 86), Lee Cook, Marc Nygaard, Shabazz Baidoo. Subs not used: Jake Cole, Paul Furlong, Scott Howell.

Referee: Ray Olivier (West Midlands).

Attendance: 11,247.