Reid-A Bed of Rumours

Peter Reid by all accounts was a strong candidate for the managers's position at Turf Moor but appeared to have given up hope when he heard that the Clarets were about to offer the job to Owen Coyle, the manager doing great things north of the border with St Johnstone.

The 51-year-old Reid is quoted today saying the following to the local paper, the Lancashire Telegraph:

'All I want to say is I wish Owen Coyle all the best at Turf Moor,'

'Burnley are a great Lancashire club with a strong tradition, and I'm sure he will do well there.'

Little did he know it was all going to go tits up with the Saints refusing permission for the Clarets to speak to the former Bolton player. The Scottish club appear to be concerned about the poor compensation offer not meeting their expectations but whether thats the end of the matter remains to be seen.

Reid held talks at Burnley FC yesterday and looked to be a strong favourite to succeed Steve Cotterill. It is rumoured strongly tonight though that he might still be in with a great chance, with further speculation that former Clarets player and manager Adrian Heath might be returning to Turf Moor and joining him as assistant manager(presumably based on their Coventry connections) Now that would be controversial!

Peter Reid remains one of my favoured candidates though. I firmly believe we need experience and proven credentials of success at this level,preferably with a record of getting a club promoted to the Premier League. OK so it went a bit wrong at Leeds and Coventry and he has done more pundit work for the telly recently rather than hands-on management but he has proved he can get a club promoted from the Championship to the top flight not just once but twice for Sunderland. He was also in charge when they had their best spell in the top flight finishing 7th in two consecutive seasons in the early 2000s.

It would be interesting if he joined us and I would certainly be willing to give him a chance. His high-profile media image could also be good for the club but lets see what happens over the next few days. Will we have a new manager in place by Saturday against Stoke? Things are hotting up lets hope so.