More and more women are becoming football fans. But are they more interested in the hunky players than the game itself? JENNY SCOTT investigates. . .

WHEN Saturday comes, they're in the pub or football stadium, cheering on their team. Sporting the team's colours, they blend into the crowd in a way that would have been unimaginable a couple of decades ago.

Yes, there are now more female football fans than ever before -- but just why is the sport proving so popular among so many of us?

According to Burnley boss Steve Cotterill, when women go to a football match they're only after one thing.

Cotterill was commenting on the widely-condemned sending off of Everton youngster Tim Cahill for celebrating a goal by putting his shirt over his head. In a lighthearted defence of the player, he asked: "Do we honestly think young women come along to see us play 4-4-2?

"They want to see these lads taking their shirts off and showing off their six packs. If we want to see more women at football matches, then we have to stop booking players for things like this."

So is it the beautiful game or the beautiful players that lies behind women's burgeoning interest in the sport?

Blackburn Rovers fan Rachel West, 24, from Accrington, denied that the pin-up boys on the pitch had anything to do with her willingness to support her team.

Rachel, manager at Allsports in Blackburn, said: "I go to watch Blackburn for the football, not the men. That's not to say there haven't been a few players I've fancied over the years -- I used to like Alan Shearer. But when I go and watch football, I watch the whole match -- not just one player."

Likewise, Burnley follower Anne Whalley said she was more interested in the intricacies of the offside rule, than in players getting their kit off.

Anne has been a season ticket holder for 10 years. She lives near Huddersfield and endures a three-hour round trip to follow the Clarets. "Perhaps I was more interested in the players when I started supporting Burnley, back in 1962," she said.

However, Anne's fellow season ticket holder Kay Miller, 57, disagreed.

"If we had more players taking their shirts off, the number of female fans would definitely go up," said Kay, who has been following Burnley home and away for 15 years.

"The players aren't the only thing I go for, of course. I love the social side of things and the atmosphere. But I think whereas men tend to be interested in the statistics of the game, women take more interest in the players' personal lives -- their wives and families."

And Blackburn fan Rebecca Kelly agreed. Rebecca, 20, a student at Manchester University, began supporting Rovers two years ago. She says it's players with the good looks of Thierry Henry and Les Ferdinand that help make the game interesting.

"The best looking player at Blackburn is Lorenzo Amoruso -- without a shadow of a doubt," she said. "I think some of the lads on the England team are pretty gorgeous as well. I don't think most footballers have much going on upstairs, but a lot of them are quite nice to look at."

And, as far as Rebecca is concerned, with goal celebrations less should definitely be more. "Shirts off -- definitely a good thing," she said. "They can leave their shorts on though -- I reckon that would be going a bit too far!"