Burnley 0 Wigan 2

GALLOWS humour should have been the sole domain of Stan Ternent.

But opposite number Paul Jewell chipped in first with a frank admission on another afternoon of pure frustration for the Clarets boss.

"I thought for the opening ninety minutes they were on top," quipped Jewell after his Wigan side staged a smash and grab raid of epic proportions.

He wasn't joking - and this was certainly no laughing matter as the seriousness of Burnley's situation hit home in ninety painful minutes.

The freak injury sustained to Gareth Taylor in pre-season appeared little more than a minor irritation four weeks ago, with striking options the very least of Ternent's worries.

But the value of the Welshman's towering presence cannot be underestimated and already, just three games into the First Division season, it's no exaggeration to suggest he could be well on the way to last season's total of 18 goals.

The sheer number of quality crosses Burnley throw into the box - when they are not trying to compensate for his absence by being too intricate in and around the penalty area - leaves you craving for his return to action.

It would also lessen the burden on Robbie Blake, who has coped admirably so far in leading the line, but finally emptied his box of tricks against a stubborn Wigan defence.

He wasn't alone however, and despite the shot count being far from a true reflection of Burnley's overall dominance, they still carved out more than enough chances to have won this game at a canter.

Unfortunately, when the supposed strength of your team fails to function, any weaknesses are cruelly exposed. And so it was again as Burnley's beleaguered back line shipped another two comic-cut goals to add to their growing tally.

"At the moment it's's difficult for everyone connected with the club," admitted Ternent.

"We are not getting a break and on top of that we are giving some poor goals away, so basically we just have to keep the faith. I think the lads are playing reasonably well and we are creating a lot of chances, but they won't just go in for us at the moment. We have to keep our chins up and get on with it because it will turn if we keep at it."

Typically chipper words from the manager, who even resorted to throwing skipper Graham Branch into attack late on to try and provide that aerial threat all too sadly lacking from Burnley's game at present.

By then though, another game had slipped through the net after Peter Kennedy and Nathan Ellington took advantage of slipshod defending to take Burnley's goals-against column soaring to nine in a scenario eerily reminiscent of last season.

It was all the more galling after a bright start from the home side. Jewell revealed he wanted his side to hit the ground running to silence the crowd, but the Turf Moor masses were in full voice as early as the fourth minute when Blake was sent racing clear down the left by Luke Chadwick.

Ian Moore, making his first competitive start of the season, scampered down the middle to provide support, but instead of using him as a diversionary tactic, Blake chose to try and pick him out and Jason Jarrett got back to clear the danger.

Then on 13 minutes, Wigan got their noses in front with their first foray upfield.

Andy Liddell's right wing cross was cleverly dummied by Lee McCulloch and Kennedy, in absolute acres of space, had time to kill the ball, pick his spot and drill a low left foot drive past the hopelessly exposed Brian Jensen.

Worryingly, that goal knocked all the stuffing out of the Clarets and they visibly let their heads drop for the majority of the first half.

The pinged-passing game that had been a hallmark of their early play disappeared into the ether and Liddell almost compounded the agony after outpacing David May and driving the ball across goal from a narrow angle.

Glen Little did see a well-struck shot deflected over via the head of Ian Breckin and the lively Chadwick spurned two good chances after being fed two inviting passes from Blake.

But Burnley fans had to wait for the second half before the onslaught really begun. It was almost entirely one-way traffic as Grant fired wide and Weller's quirky back header flew just the wrong side of the post.

Ian Moore again failed to test John Filan from the left side of the area following excellent work by the tireless Mo Camara. Moore might have made up for that soon after as he latched onto Chadwick's slide-rule pass and bore down on goal, only to suffer as Matt Jackson made a timely last-ditch tackle.

Former Blackburn keeper Filan incredibly had to wait until the 65th minute before making his first save, brilliantly sticking out a foot to deny Weller from close-range after Camara and Little combined to create Burnley's best chance.

Blake then failed to find the target twice more when Filan should have been further tested - and finally Burnley were made to pay for their wasteful ways.

Jensen had saved well from Breckin and Ellington on rare counter-attacks, but the Dane was left grapsing at thin air as Ellington capped his first game in five months by effortlessly nodding home Jimmy Bullard's 77th minute corner from inside the six yard box..

Tellingly, when Burnley got that close one more time, Moore's effort was hacked off the line and Richard Chaplow's follow-up bounced out off the underside of the bar. It was that kind of day - and Jewell summed it up perfectly.