BURNLEY'S players take on Birmingham City tonight flying high, four points clear at the top of the table, but determined to keep their feet on the ground.

The "P" word has not been banned from the Clarets training ground but none of the players are getting carried away at the prospect of promotion.

And 34-year-old midfielder Paul Cook claimed the club will benefit from having a collection of older players in the squad.

"The great thing about our dressing room is that the experience is there for all to see," he said.

"We're delighted with the way things are going, we have started really well but it is very early days. We are the early front runners but have only played seven games."

The central midfield partnership of Cook and 36-year-old Kevin Ball has been one key factor in the start that has brought six wins from the first seven games.

In addition Mitchell Thomas, Steve Davis, Gordon Armstrong, Andy Payton and Tony Ellis are all int he squad for tonight's game and all are 32 or older.

That wealth of experience, combined with the decades in the game behind the management team of Stan Ternent and Sam Ellis, means there is no danger of complacency or anyone getting carried away.

"It is only the middle of September," added Cook. "Only time will tell how well we will do."

Despite his caution Cook, scorer of an outstanding goal against Walsall at the weekend, confessed to enjoying what has been the best start he has been involved in since he made his debut for Wigan Athletic in the mid-1980s - and he is not surprised.

"We have got a big, solid squad, we have all played our part and almost everyone has scored this season," he said. "I am in the side at the moment but I know that might change at any time.

"We have shown we can play in a number of different ways, changing our formation during a match if that is the right thing to do."

Tonight's opponents were among the bookies favourites to be challenging near the top before the start of the season and they will be eager to bounce back after a 3-0 drubbing at maine Road on Saturday.

Cook knows tonight will be another good test of the side's ability and, having played for both Wolves and Coventry, he is aware of the threat the Blues pose.

"Birmingham is a smashing big club and at the start of the season they will have been targetting automatic promotion," he said. "We are not trying to be cocky, we're expecting a hard game but we will be ready for it.

"Before the start of the season everyone looked at the fixture list and decided we had a hard start to the season. But we have been to Millwall, which is always difficult, Bradford, who will be there at the end of the season, and Sheffield Wednesday and won all three.

"We now have Birmingham and then Norwich on Saturday and we are not foolish to think that they will be two easy games."

And no matter what the results are this week, the wise old heads fo Cook and co will not let anyone get carried away.