ACTION man Steve Cotterill led the way last summer with a head-first dive into foaming rapids in Austria.

His daredevil squad has followed suit by throwing themselves headlong into an adventure-packed Championship campaign.

And with the emphasis on living dangerously, the results are there for all to see.

At the mid-point of the season all-action Burnley have scored 40 goals in all competitions, compared with just 24 at the same stage last season.

Graham Branch and Jon Harley's first goals of the season, during last weekend's 4-1 win over Watford, puts 13 players on the scoresheet compared with just 10 at this time last year.

And ahead of the Boxing Day clash with former club Stoke City, the Christmas message from Cotterill is carry on entertaining!

"I read a quote somewhere from (Watford manager) Adie Boothroyd saying that if they kept a clean sheet last weekend, he thought they might have won.

"So people obviously fancy nicking a goal against us at the moment," said Cotterill.

"I don't like that, but I'll settle for winning every week 10-9 for all I care. It might give me a heart attack, but it would bring the crowds back!"

Ade Akinbiyi has reprised the Robbie Blake role in becoming Burnley's leading marksman this term, even outscoring the former Clarets skipper at the corresponding point of the season.

But it is the sheer spread of goals throughout the entire squad that has helped turn Cotterill's side into a fearsome, attack-minded unit.

Of the regular starters, only central defenders John McGreal and Frank Sinclair and midfield anchor man Micah Hyde have yet to score - an astonishing achievement with half of the campaign still remaining.

"The goals have been spread out and that has been fantastic," added Cotterill.

"We probably only had two last year - Robbie Blake and AN Other - but this year everyone is contributing.

"James (O'Connor) has nicked a few goals lately, Garreth (O'Connor) started hitting them and went a little off the boil but he will score more, while Wade (Elliott) has scored a couple of crackers and Jon (Harley) has chipped in with two now, so all in all we're pleased with it."

The one area Cotterill does want to see improvement, however, is defence.

As Christmas looms, Burnley have proudly matched last season's tally of nine clean sheets. And the manager wants his back-line to start inflicting pain on their festive opposition to bring yet more cheer to Clarets fans.

"From a defensive point of view, Michael Duff is probably our strongest header of the ball, coupled with John and Frank. But what we don't seem to get is that dominance in the opponent's box," insisted Cotterill.

"We're probably a little bit disappointed with their return with headed goals, and although John looks the closest to scoring at the moment, I'm disappointed with Michael at set plays.

"I've told him this for months, but at Cheltenham I fancied him every week to score from a set play.

"Whether he's not attacking the ball like he used to, I don't know. But we'll keep trying that one and as long as the goals go in and the defenders keep clean sheets, we're not overly bothered."

As Boxing Day looms, who would argue with that sentiment?