Clarets Blog: Break is the time to regroup (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Clarets Blog: Break is the time to regroup

8:10am Monday 10th September 2012 in Sport

THE international break gives not only us fans and journalists a chance to have a look at how the season has gone so far, but also the players and management.

And after a solitary opening day win against Owen Coyle’s Bolton Wanderers, I am sure Eddie Howe and the lads will assess things in a very honest way.

We know that three straight defeats in the Championship is not good enough but it is certainly not something that we need to tell the lads in the dressing room because they will know as well.

Howe always makes a big point of the fact that he has a lot of honest lads in his squad and that they feel every defeat as badly as the fans. It is easy for supporters to put up this kind of ‘them and us’ barrier when they do not see the team performing, but what we have to remember is that this is a relatively young side and they are only human.

What we haven’t got a team packed with superstars on £200,000 per week.

Yes, most of the lads probably earn more in a couple of months than most of us do in a year but using that as a stick to beat them with when things go wrong is unfair. I’ve seen some dross over the years watching the Clarets and I’ve seen players who would have rather been anywhere else but at Turf Moor.

But I don’t see either of those examples in this current squad – one notable exception aside.

We are all frustrated that the transfer market hasn’t quite turned out as we had hoped.

But things could be worse.

Them down the road have a manager who has admitted that he hasn’t seen any of his three deadline day signings play before. And all that have waxing the cost of a Dimitar Berbatov and a Clint Dempsey on a young lad who has next to no Championship experience.

Howe probably has a list of players he is still working hard to bring in on loan and whether that is Brett Pittman (likely) or Connor Wickham (less likely) he will know that we need something extra upfront.

We have been desperately unlucky with injuries in that department, with Danny Ings once again on the sidelines for a long stint and Martin Paterson having his usual early season setback.

But add to that the fact that Brian Stock and Sam Vokes had not had much game time before arriving at the Turf and you have a less than ideal start to the campaign.

I am sure those lads have been working extra hard over this last week to get their fitness up to speed and once they get the minutes under their belt I am sure both will play a key role this season.

The season has not got going yet but lets not be too hasty to judge.

The Championship is getting harder every year but we are not the only team struggling to get a foothold this season.

Birmingham City, Wolves, Bolton and Crystal Palace - all team with Premier League experience - sit around us at the foot of the second tier as it stands now.

I’d put good money on both us and them being much higher within weeks of the restart after the international break.

Seasons are not defined by the opening four matches so lets get rid of the negativity and start again on Saturday.