JUST when Southampton thought things couldn't get any worse, Burnley rolled into town!

News of Harry Redknapp's dramatic departure was the only thing on the minds of legions of fans' at St Mary's, where the majority hurled a torrent of abuse at their ex-manager while spitting venom in chairman Rupert Lowe's direction.

Even my chatty taxi driver, a self-confessed fairweather Saints fan, had a take on the burning issue of the day, arguing that Redknapp should be raised up in a blimp midway between Southampton and Portsmouth armed with a pair of binoculars to enable him to manage both teams!

The mood of more regular fans was less jovial; feelings of downright disbelief when they woke to the news manifesfting itself as anger as the divisions between Saints' fans and those running the club grew to a yawning chasm.

What a contrast to the Clarets, totally united in everything they do and professionally sweeping in and out of St Mary's almost as a sideshsow, while pouring more misery on the fractured south coast club.

And they did it the hard way, forced to make major defensive changes and coming from a goal down to earn a deserved point courtesy of Ade Akinbiyi's flying second half header.

But perhaps nothing should surprise Burnley fans any more. The masses - including an amazing 1,800 who made this latest long trek - have watched their side take every hurdle in their stride since finally beginning to get that overdue rub of the green every team needs.

And with eight wins in 11 games in the bag and the top six in their sights, Steve Cotterill's dogged side weren't about to roll over and have their tummies tickled just to appease a club in crisis.

The omens were not good. John McGreal failed to make the flight south after the eye he cut against Crewe last weekend closed on him as the week progressed. In tandem with Michael Duff's suspension, that meant two changes to a reliable back line that has formed such solid foundations.

The answer surprised many with Graham Branch coming in from the cold after nine weeks out with a knee injury to take up a position in central defence while Keith Lowe slotted in at right back. Nathan Dyer's enforced absence against his own club also denied the Clarets the option of lightening pace to support lone-front runner Akinbiyi.

And with Burnley starting sluggishly against a team that had clearly been fired-up by caretaker boss Dave Bassett and his hastily appointed assistant Dennis Wise, you sensed the hosts might have the scent of blood in their nostrils should they grab the first goal.

Thankfully that failed to materialise, despite Danny Higginbotham providing the perfect antidote to all the pre-match shenanigans with a clinical 33rd minute penalty after Rory Delap was chopped down in full flight.

Indeed, the hosts failed to register one more meaningful shot on target all afternoon as Burnley first dug in, secondly regrouped and finally struck back to earn their first draw in 13 games since sharing the spoils with Brighton on September 24.

It might have been different had Blackburn Rovers fan Brett Ormerod claimed a 'trophy' goal early in the game after being given a criminal amount of time to chest down a long throw and volley inches wide.

Another early concern, following McGreal's head wound seven days earlier, was seeing Akinbiyi receive treatment on the sidelines after a clash of heads that left the Burnley striker bleeding and needing a change of shirt.

The Clarets seemed to be suffering a collective headache before the break and just after the half hour mark, despite appearing to be slowly grabbing a foothold, they fell behind from the spot.

Southampton engineered a quick break that finally saw Jensen save well from Djamel Belmadi's angled drive. The resulting half-clearance bounced straight to Delap, who showed terrific ability at full pelt to race into the box before falling under Micah Hyde's clumsy challenge.

There were few arguments and Higginbotham emphatically smashed the resulting award down the middle of Jensen's goal from 12 yards.

Burnley had to improve after the break and as they sought a route back, the hour mark brought the sight of Steve Cotterill emulating Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho by passing new instructions on to Branch via a slip of paper.

That brought an instant system change and a big fluctuation in Burnley's fortunes. Within minutes, striker Gifton Noel-Williams had replaced John Spicer, while a defensive re-shuffle saw Branch switch to left midfield, Lowe restored to central defence and Wade Elliott drop to right back.

And the masterstroke worked in the 66th minute as Akinbiyi pounced to equalise in stunning fashion. But it was a goal carved out by Branch, revelling in his new-found freedom as he jinked past Delap, sprinted down the left touchline and crossed majestically for the Championship's top scorer to register his 13th of the season with a flying header.

Burnley's bandwagon was halted when former Sheffield United defender Jon Harley picked up his fifth booking of the season for dissent ahead of a Saints free kick, meaning he misses out on a reunion when Burnley head to Bramall Lane this weekend.

But from every game you take the positives. And the way Burnley cruised over the line in the ascendancy, passing their latest big test with flying colours, means all those Clarets fans crossing the Pennines on Saturday will do so in eager anticipation, rather than blind hope.