FURIOUS Burnley manager Owen Coyle berated yet more poor refereeing decisions after his side slipped to a second defeat from three Championship away games at Barnsley last night.

The Clarets boss even went so far as to admit: “It’s probably one of the worst feelings I’ve had in football”, after Simon Whaley’s controversial goal contributed to a 3-2 win for the Tykes.

The on-loan Preston winger was clearly offside when Jamal Campbell-Ryce’s shot struck him and sent the ball past Brian Jensen.

But the decision wasn’t given by assistant referee Jock Waugh, or match official Nigel Miller, and Barnsley went on to add the decisive third goal just four minutes later.

Martin Paterson’s brace from the bench threatened a comeback, and Coyle was disappointed not to come away from Oakwell with at least a point in the end.

“When all’s said and done, we should certainly have achieved a result out of that game, even being 3-0 down, because I thought the last half-hour we were absolutely magnificent,” said Coyle, who was frustrated to have Steven Thompson sent off in the Saturday’s stalemate with Doncaster.

“Martin Paterson and Kevin McDonald came on and showed the qualities that they have and gave everybody a lift, and we had chance upon chance.

“Heinz Muller (the goalkeeper) was voted man-of-the-match, and rightly so because it was waves of attack. They showed that real passion and desire, and in that last half-hour I couldn’t have been any more, for want of a better word in football, proud of them.

“But it’s a hard one to take because we certainly merited a result out of it.

“It’s a real sickener; probably one of the worst feelings I’ve had in football that we’re sitting now with no points after that game, given everything that we offered in the last half-hour but prior to that also.

“But there’s no getting away from how big a turning point the second goal was.

“I knew during the game and I’ve seen it since on TV that they have three players at least two yards in advance of our back line.

“Then it hits his arm (Whaley’s) as he puts it in. They can’t tell me he wasn’t interfering because he scored and he’s at least two yards offside.

“It’s just a bad, bad decision. At the time I asked the fourth official to ask the linesman who was playing him onside, and the answer I got was that his view was obscured.

“Well it was obviously obscured by three Barnsley players because there was no Burnley part in sight of that line!”

But Coyle was pleased with the positive reaction of his players after their setback.

“I have played in teams that at three down it could have ended up five or six. That group of players don’t know defeat,” he said.

“We obviously felt a little bit sorry for ourselves to go three down, but the one thing I know about that group of players is the passion and desire they have and when all said and done we still should have achieved a result form that game, even being three goals down.

“But it can’t go on week after week and I certainly seem to keep thinking that myself and my team are the victims every week.”