Waddock made some changes to the side that had gone down without as much as a whimper against Stoke and Crewe. Jones was in goal behind a back four of Kus, Shittu, Evatt and Milanese. The midfield four was Ainsworth, Bircham, Langley and Cook with Baidoo and Nygaard partnered up front. Andrew Howell was selected for the first time on the bench and Donnelly was back to sit with him. After asking not to be skipper, Shittu passed the armband to Ainsworth to make a mockery of recent web speculation.

Rangers almost scored in the first minute and many would have foolishly thought that a standard had been set for the afternoon. Cook found space on the left and delivered a telling cross that was met by Baidoo’s head. Brian Jensen was well placed to gather the effort which would prove to be Baidoo’s only shot on goal all game.

Shittu was having a good game at the other end and seemed to be a lot more relaxed without the apparent burden of captaincy. Evatt next to him was his usual mixture of no jumping and slow turning, I don’t think I have ever seen a centre back that has to stretch for so much, and he never seems to get there in good time.

Burnley registered their first shot on target when the impressive Alan Mahon cut in from the right onto his favoured left foot and sent a dipper at the top corner. Jones somehow managed to launch himself into the air to tip it over for a corner and was rewarded by being squashed by Evatt! From the resulting set piece he had a bit of a flap but the danger was cleared.

Going the other way the usual story of diabolical finishing was on show with Nygaard the main culprit. Twice good balls from Cook on the left found the giant Dane and twice his header ended up nearer the corner flag than the goal. When he is bang on form he is virtually unplayable, when he is playing like he has in the last couple of games, he is virtually unwatchable.

Milanese produced an excellent last ditch challenge to deny Michael Ricketts after he had hurdled the challenge of Evatt. Both Jones and Jensen were being under worked severely though as both sides showed why they were 17^th and 15^th at the start of play. Half time was a welcome release for both sets of fans.

Gray went close at the start of the second half before Cotterill made a change that put Burnley in the box seat. Mahon had been operating from the right but the replacing of Ricketts with Elliott saw the Wigan loanee pushed inside. This meant that he was up against Bircham and Langley who had been nothing short of embarrassing to this point. From the off Bircham was all at sea as Mahon got on the ball at will and led the R’s midfield a merry dance.

After Jones had gathered a Mahon shot from fully forty yards Rangers had a chance to take the lead after a terrible error from Jensen. A ball back to him caught him on his heels and Baidoo used his pace to get in first. He turned and then seemed to get caught in about five minds and ended up doing nothing. If he wants to pulls the clubs pants down over his contract then he needs to do a damned sight better than this as chances won’t be as plentiful as they are at youth and reserve level.

Marcin Kus’ return to the side was curtailed by injury with just under twenty five minutes to play. He had looked pretty solid and certainly a more palatable option than the out of form Bignot. With no right sided defender on the bench Lomas slotted in at right back, which he has done many times in his long career.

From a Lomas throw Nygaard finally managed to force a save from his countryman Jensen. He was the only played alive to the opportunity and the throw found him in acres of space but at a tight angle. He controlled and turned and forced Jensen into a save with his right hand.

The game was crying out for something better for Rangers in midfield as the current four had created exactly bugger all since the break. Any time they did manage to get hold of it they managed to pick the wrong pass almost without exception. High balls to Baidoo, balls in the channels for Nygaard and from the middle two, more often than not, balls behind their intended targets. Donnelly was sitting patiently on the bench and should have been thrown on for more than the four minutes he actually got.

As the game seemed to be petering out to a listless draw Burnley produced a moment of quality to win the game. Mahon got the ball in midfield and turned away from Bircham with no hint of interference. Bircham should have hauled him down and taken the booking if it meant stopping a goal but he didn’t. In fact he barely set off in pursuit of Mahon and he had time to slip a ball into the path of Andy Gray. Evatt was ill equipped to intervene as the Scottish striker moved away from him and slotted the ball past Jones.

Rangers couldn’t force another chance after this and nor could their hosts. The team were booed off as is the standard these days after yet another nothing display against another nothing opponent. Waddock couldn’t even bring himself to look at the fans as he trudged down the tunnel, I wonder whether Paladini is regretting his job offer in the pub last week!

I actually don’t think the problem lies with Waddock and I am not sure the problem lay with Holloway either. It seems to me that we have a set of players that are completely incapable of carrying out a game plan. Until this changes then I think we are going to have a succession of similar displays until the end of the season. The squad is rotten to the core and some experienced players need to be moved on if things are to improve.

I am sure that Waddock will change things again for the visit of Derby County next Saturday. Certainly the pairing of Bircham and Langley is likely to be canned after a terrible showing. Donnelly and Lomas will likely be the two as Waddock searches for ideas for next year. If Gallen is fit again he will play but other than those changes were are hardly blessed with a plethora of options so standby for another long old afternoon.

simon@qprnet.com