UPLIFTING anthems were geared to send a subliminal message to Burnley.

“We could be heroes, just for one day”, sang David Bowie before the high noon kick-off.

But this wasn’t Burnley’s day. It was never close to being. Not with Mike Dean at the helm.

Brian Jensen had asked for the Clarets’ faithful to be their 12th man. They will feel that Cheshire official Dean was Blackburn Rovers’, and they would be fully justified.

Even Sam Allardyce agreed that their rivals had been hard done by.

The referee who oversaw a Wembley win that fired Burnley into the Premier League played a major role in one of the games that could ultimately cost them their place at football’s top table.

First he gave a penalty that never was in Blackburn’s favour, after Martin Olsson tripped over his own feet under pressure from Brian Jensen, and David Dunn’s 20th minute conversion proved to be conclusive.

Dean later failed to award a spot kick that should possibly have been when Chris Samba blocked off Wade Elliott’s attempted run into the box right on the edge, although even replays didn’t shed any definitive light on the incident.

As the second half wore on, both Dean AND his linesman failed to notice goalkeeper Jason Brown handle the ball outside the box.

Rovers didn’t have it all their own way, of course. Olsson had one chalked off for offside and had another ruled out in the second half, when his effort bounced down off the underside of the crossbar and appeared to cross the line.

But, let’s be honest, it wasn’t all Dean’s fault. Burnley’s biggest downfall, as it has been for most of the season, was a defensive error; a switch-off that allowed Olsson the chance to have a run at goal in the first place.

Worse still, though, was an alarming inability to put up a fight. If there was ever a way to test their mettle for this relegation battle, then what better opportunity to showcase it than on derby day.

But the gloves were barely on, never mind off.

There were only flashes of fervour. Kevin McDonald looked occassionally menacing in midfield, but his determination wasn’t mirrored enough in his team-mates in key areas.

Top scorer Steven Fletcher, for example, has the ability to conjure something out of nothing, but didn't anticipate, didn’t gamble and did give up too easily, contributing to this being the only home game this season in which Burnley have failed to score.

David Nugent rallied a home crowd that had been virtually silenced by Dunn’s penalty as he snapped at the heels of centre halves Samba and youngster Phil Jones.

He had earlier had a set-to with Michel Salgado that had prompted Samba’s intervention.

The only other occasions they got to their feet were to dispute the numerous dubious Dean decisions, moan at Morten Gamst Pedersen for labouring over his throw-ins and free kicks, when Leon Cort went close with a first-half volley and Danny Fox’s left wing cross missed it’s target in the second half and when five minutes of stoppage time were signalled.

Jensen had predicted not being able to hear each other speak out on the pitch.

The game kicked off to such a deafening racket from all sides of the ground that it was impossible to make out Dean’s first whistle, but that was as good as it got.

Of course it is a two-way street. The crowd need to be inspired by what they’ve paid to see as well as the other way around.

But they shouldn’t have needed any encouragement to respond to the chants from a full away end yesterday.

And that was the other disappointment.

Turf Moor is a venue that has been rightly labelled a cauldron in the last 12 months.

The only time it reached boiling point was when it was all over and Pedersen and El-Hadji Diouf celebrated the final whistle as though they had won the cup.

It was an angry revolt, and created a noise that had been badly lacking since Dunn’s spot kick stunned them into almost silence.

Burnley have conceded the most penalties in the Premier League this season.

Jensen has made the most saves in the division. But he was sent the wrong way by done from the spot by Blackburn midfielder, and fan, Dunn. Who else?

Burnley played the more eye-catching football when they got the ball down, particularly down the flanks, but a lack of quality prevented anything from coming of it.

When substitute Danny Fox managed to deliver a killer ball from the left, Fletcher missed it by a matter of centimetres at the far post.

It summed up the Clarets’ afternoon.

This season’s East Lancashire derbies have been the first in English football’s top flight since 1966.

A re-match next season is looking increasingly unlikely, but still not impossible if they can produce heroics in the last six games.