O'Driscoll's chances for Burnley post uncertain

SEÁN O’DRISCOLL’S chances of becoming the third former Republic of Ireland player managing in the English Premier League were hanging in the balance last night as Burnley chairman Barry Kilby opted to give a second interview to former Sheffield Wednesday boss Brian Laws before deciding who will replace Owen Coyle at Turf Moor.

A number of other well-known figures, including Leeds manager Simon Grayson, Gianfranco Zola’s assistant at West Ham Steve Clarke and Huddersfield’s Lee Clark, have been linked with the vacancy, but by last night it appeared to have boiled down to a two-horse race.

O’Driscoll, currently in charge at Championship outfit Doncaster Rovers, was reported at one stage yesterday to have been offered the job, but Kilby, appears to have given Laws another chance to impress at least in part because appointing the 48-year-old, who started his playing career with the club some 30 years ago, would save him over €1 million in compensation.

For O’Driscoll, whose career has been spent with clubs in the lower leagues, the opportunity to manage at the top level of the English game would cap what has been a remarkable rise in recent years.

The Wolverhampton-born former midfielder first came to prominence playing with Fulham. He moved to Bournemouth, where he eventually went into coaching, and then management, during a stint with the club that ultimately lasted 23 years.

He won promotion to League One during his time in charge of the club and, having won the Football League trophy with Rovers in 2007, took them up to the Championship during his first full season as manager a year later.

Last season looked set to involve a race all the way to the wire to avoid going straight back down, but in the end the club finished in a fairly comfortable lower-mid-table position and have been performing solidly again this time around.

It is not surprising then that Rovers chairman John Ryan is reluctant to see him go without significant compensation, estimated at some €1.15 million, being paid by Burnley.

“We don’t want to lose Seán, but should it happen we shall be seeking serious compensation,” he insisted.

The 52-year-old, who earned three caps for the Republic, all of them in May 1982 on a difficult tour of Central and South America, and who also played at under-21 level for the country, has gained a reputation over the years as a clever tactician with an ability to get the best out of the players at his disposal.

He is also well used to working within tight budgets.

But, like Coyle, he sets his teams out to play good football.

“Doncaster arguably play the best football in our division,” claims Ryan, “and we’ve not been called ‘the Arsenal of our division’ for nothing. That’s down to Seán and his assistant, Richard O’Kelly.”

It is an approach that would go down well with the Turf Moor crowd as long as the team can maintain its top-flight status.

Laws’ history with the club, however, gives him an edge in the emotional attachment department, and he did well during spells in charge of Grimsby and Scunthorpe. His most recent job, at Wednesday, was not such a success and he left by “mutual consent” last month with the club lying 20th in the Championship.

It is recognised, however, that he was terribly restricted in how much he could achieve at Hillsborough given the lack of resources he had to work with.

“Of course it would interest me,” Laws told the Lancashire Telegraph yesterday. “I have a great affinity with Burnley, but there’s no more I can say on that.”

Elsewhere, Falkirk wrapped up the signing of Colin Healy from Ipswich Town yesterday. The 29-year-old former international has joined the Scottish Premier League outfit until the end of the season and could make his debut against Celtic this weekend.

And Ipswich goalkeeper Brian Murphy’s injury has not proven serious enough to force Roy Keane into the transfer market to secure additional cover for the position.

“We’ve been unlucky with ’keepers,” said the Corkman, “but I did fear it could have been longer.”