The Martin Dobson column. . .

BURNLEY have made their move on the management merry-go-round and Steve Cotterill is the man charged with making some tough decisions.

There is no doubt changes need to be made by the man who has been installed as the new boss and I wish him well.

From what has been filtering out of the corridors at Turf Moor over the last few weeks, several high profile names had been interviewed for the position with Brian Flynn, Steve McMahon and Ronnie Moore on the short list.

While these individuals will be disappointed at not been given the nod, Cotterill must be delighted with the opportunity to take the club forward during the next few seasons.

He's had an interesting managerial career so far.

As Cheltenham's boss he gained a reputation as a deep thinking, hard working and progressive coach, single minded in his approach to the game; full of enterprise and passion and who's not afraid to put his ideas into practice.

He won the FA Trophy at Wembley and followed that in 2002 by taking the club into the nose bleed areas of the fifth round of the FA Cup.

As one of the games outstanding young talents, it was no surprise when he took over at the Britannia Stadium to manage first division Stoke City.

He was one of the first to qualify for the new FA Pro Licence, where Howard Wilkinson - who at the time was the technical director at the Football Association - took notice of his qualities.

When the former Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday boss became the surprise choice at Sunderland he had no hesitation in bringing Steve on board to join him at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland were in the middle of a slump and nothing was going to stop the juggernaut from slipping through the trap door into the Nationwide League.

Heads had to roll. In any career there are bound to be ups and downs but now a wonderful opening has presented itself to the 39-year-old.

He's been quoted as saying: "There is no doubt that Burnley have a huge potential and I am eager to start work immediately building a team to challenge next season."

With only eight players on contract for next season, many may feel that his position has already been undermined.

I disagree. He will be able to bring in his own players and quickly introduce his own disciplines into the squad.

It's a fresh start with everybody hoping to impress and put themselves into contention for the opening games.

When a manager takes over he usually has to quickly assess his squad and decide which players will be in his plans and who will be made available.

That can create a massive problem as many may be around for the next 12 months.

They will train every day with the rest of the squad but obviously will not be happy with their own personal situations. A degree of disharmony in the dressing room could develop and all the positive vibes the coaching staff will be hoping to foster could well be destroyed by these few dissenters.