ON MONDAY morning, the topic of conversation should have been about who edged the bragging rights following the previous day's goalless East Lancashire derby.

But dominating the news was pitch invader Michael Lewis, who ran on to the Turf Moor pitch to confront Rovers star Robbie Savage as millions of Match of the Day viewers and the 21,000 plus in the stadium looked on in disbelief.

The 42-year-old from Nelson was eventually restrained by police officers - two of whom were assaulted as they tried to lead him off the pitch.

Two others were also charged and later convicted of pitch encroachment.

It led to stewarding of the Turf Moor clash being criticised, with Rovers boss Mark Hughes saying such things should not happen in this day and age.

Blackburn's handling of the replay is now under intense scrutiny - but how do you prevent hooligans who are hell-bent on getting on the pitch?

In Lewis' case he was already serving a three- year ban from every ground in the country.

Burnley FC's ground safety officer Alex Wood said his staff could not have done any more.

Mr Wood, who worked for Lancashire Police for 30 years, said 60 extra stewards were drafted in on top of the undisclosed number of regular stewards for the Blackburn game.

But he stressed: "If we had put 1,000 stewards on it would not make a difference if someone is hell-bent on getting on the pitch. They will just wait to pick their moment.

"The only way to stop them would be erecting fencing but we don't want to do that for a few mindless idiots.

"Anyone who makes it on to the pitch is committing an offence and the club will issue life bans to anyone convicted in court of this offence."

And he insisted that banning orders did work - despite Lewis flouting his.

"Yes people can disguise themselves with a cap or scarf, but the police do monitor CCTV footage and anyone identified as being banned or committing an offence will either be arrested and ejected during a game or retrospectively."

The man heading the policing operation for Tuesday's game, Supt Warren Turner, has a clear message for would-be troublemakers: "We know who you are and you will be dealt with."

The force has added to the number of officers usually on duty to bolster support units, dog handlers, and road police officers outside the ground.

And Mr Turner, operation manager for Lancashire Police's eastern division and match commander on the night, added: "We will be deploying football intelligence teams which include 'spotters' and information officers who have vast amounts of knowledge of 'high risk' supporters who have caused us concern in the past.

"For example, if a group of Burnley fans took a train to the game, they would be met at the station and escorted to the ground by police officers, including members of the intelligence team and anyone spotted as 'high risk' would not be allowed into the ground."

Police from both Blackburn and Burnley have hand-delivered clear reminders to banned fans that they should stay away.

Those caught trying to breach the order will be sent away at the turnstile and arrested if identified in the ground.

"We just want everyone to enjoy the match and safety is our primary concern," Mr Turner stressed.

Rovers have held scheduled meetings with Lancashire Constabulary and been in close consultation with Burnley, who have been allocated 7,000 tickets in the Darwen End.

Blackburn Rovers chief executive John Williams insists the club will follow what he termed "the safety blueprint" used successfully for many high-profile matches at Ewood Park.

Mr Williams stressed. "We appreciate that this game is a little different to other high-profile fixtures in so much that it is an evening kick-off and there has got to be a winner on the night. The co-operation of supporters is crucial, especially in matters like arriving early."

One guarantee is that Lewis will not engage in a repeat performance - Burnley magistrates jailed him for five months.