9:50am Saturday 20th March 2010
By Suzanne Geldard
BURNLEY manager Brian Laws received the backing of chairman Barry Kilby this week, now he’s urged his players to reward the 3,500 fans who will be right behind them at the DW Stadium today with their first away win.
The Clarets, who have lost 14 of their 15 Premier League away games to date, have sold out their ticket allocation for visiting supporters, while the away end could be further swelled with the option for fans to pay on the day of their crunch relegation clash with Wigan Athletic.
Laws was booed by a small section of fans who disagreed with his decision to replace winger Chris Eagles during last week’s 2-1 defeat to fellow strugglers Wolves, and following Phil Brown’s sacking at Hull one national newspaper reported the Burnley boss was next for the axe.
Kilby slammed those false claims as “a ludicrous, irresponsible, damaging and inaccurate piece of journalism.”
Now, after welcoming the chairman’s robust response, Laws stressed his determination to finally give the Burnley faithful something to celebrate on their travels.
“It’s a resounding big message to have supporters right behind you, as they have been. I wouldn’t expect anything else,” he said.
“They want to see us win a game away from home, and they’ll want to see us win at Wigan.
“There’s no question we’ll get great support there and long may it continue.
“We’ve got to give them something to shout about.
“They are great supporters here, there’s no doubt about it, and they are really up for the game and the Premier League challenge.
“The players really do get inspired by their presence.
“Wigan don’t attract really big gates and so it could be quite sparse in certain areas, but in ours it will be very vocal and probably more vocal than the Wigan supporters so that will encourage us.”
Laws added that he has also been encouraged by the players’ attitudes in response to two disappointing results at home to Stoke and Wolves, and missing the chance to climb out of the bottom three.
“I’ve been in situations where you come in on a Monday after a game and they’re as flat as a pancake, but that’s never been evident here and that’s been the beauty of it,” he said.
“They could be easily forgiven for doing that and feeling sorry for themselves, but they’re not, and that gives everybody a lift.
“No-one’s pointing the finger, we’ve all made mistakes and we’ve been punished by them.
“But they’re getting on with it and not letting it affect them.
“On the training ground it’s been as good a tempo as we’ve had.
“They’ve got out there, brushed it aside and moved on to the next game.
“We’re in a privileged position in terms of being in the Premier League, and the players are not going to allow it to affect them.
“You might as well give up now if you do.
“You’ve got to keep fighting, and that’s the spirit they’ve been showing in training.”
And Laws said still being in the hunt for survival was enough to keep the Clarets motivated.
“Three points can make a whole lot of difference. It drags (Wigan) back in and the pressure will be hugely on their shoulders,” he said.
“They’ll look at us and pencil it in as a definite three points, but there’s going to come a time when we change that and Wigan won’t want to be on the end of it.
“It will turn.
“There’s no-one who’s turned us over, I would say, particularly at home.
“We’re taking a lot of positives from that.
“We’ve just got to mirror that away from home, and no better place than Wigan because that would drag them right into it and give us a real lift.
“I keep saying we’ll get a win away from home.
“I do believe it’s only a matter of time, and I hope it’s today.”
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