WHEN Burnley take on Derby County tomorrow, they will face one of football’s great characters. But we can always rely on Robbie Savage to shoot himself in the foot.

Savage, of course, spent three largely successful years at Blackburn Rovers.

His ability has long been questioned, but it is no coincidence that Rovers enjoyed such good times with his galvanising presence in the heart of their midfield.

Yet Savage has often courted controversy, and this week has been no exception.

Craig Bellamy, that other most introverted former Rover, started the ball rolling by asserting that Wales were a ‘poor side’ – a side in which he had just played 90 minutes - with ‘no glimmer of hope of qualifying’ for the World Cup after Saturday's home defeat to Finland.

Savage rarely misses the chance to express his undying love for John Toshack, the man who effectively ended his Wales career, so wasted no time in adding his thoughts on the matter.

And then he put his foot in it.

Suggesting that a lack of Premier League players on show may have led to a crowd of less than 23,000 at the Millennium Stadium, he said: “No disrespect, but does the crowd really want to go and see lower division players playing?”

His argument is not altogether incorrect, but it might have been safer to make such statements from a lofty perch in the upper echelons of the Premier League.

Instead, he is playing for Derby. In the Championship.

So it seems Savage feels neither he, nor any of his Rams team-mates, are worth watching. Anyone planning to go to Pride Park tomorrow need not bother.

And one wonders how Derby’s Scotland internationals Kris Commons and Gary Teale might feel about the implicit suggestion that they shouldn’t be playing for their country.

One wonders, too, whether Savage’s opponents tomorrow – internationals like Martin Paterson, Graham Alexander and Wales’ Rhys Williams - might want to show why they are very definitely worth watching, providing they overcome fitness tests.

Burnley team-mates Michael Duff and Joey Gudjonsson have also proudly represented their countries as ‘lower division players’ in the past.

Savage’s career appeared to be virtually over earlier this season when he joined Brighton and Hove Albion on loan, but he has proved something of a rejuvenated force since the arrival of Nigel Clough.

I happened to see Savage play at Doncaster Rovers in late February, and he was charging around the field with the same spirit upon which his career has been based.

He put Derby ahead with a fine free kick – reminiscent of his strike for Rovers at Salzburg – but his presence soon became a spur for the home fans as the tide began to turn.

After eventual defeat, he threw his arms around in a tantrum rather unbefitting of a 34-year-old.

If nothing else, though, it proved he still cares. Stifling Savage’s influence on the game could prove pivotal to Burnley’s chances tomorrow.

And, should the Clarets hit top form at Pride Park, that really will be worth watching.

Even for a bunch of lower division players.