THE relationship between a

football manager and his chairman has to be one of the most fascinating, if enigmatic, partnerships in sport. The chairman knows that the prosperity of his club largely depends on the other, and the manager is aware that his job might well hang on the whim of his boss.

It is an arrangement akin to that of ballroom dancers who know they have to keep in step, but also know who to blame if they fail.

For Tommy Burns, who has spent much of the past five years dealing with three different chairmen, the experience has been enlightening, although other adjectives could be substituted.

Burns was sacked last week by Reading, whose chairman, John Madejski, had rarely spoken to him during the 18 months of his term, and blamed results for his decision. This is the perceived route taken by all club leaders when they need an escape route from the fans.

Before that he had been cushioned from the wrath of the man on high as a coach with Newcastle United under Kenny Dalglish, but that was only a respite after his rough ride at Parkhead under the demands of Fergus McCann.

His first experience had been as player-manager of Kilmrnock, where he had a fine understanding with Bobby Fleeting until their harmony disintegrated in bitterness when he was purloined by Celtic.

Dismissal in the English second division might be even more depressing than an encouraged exit at Celtic Park, but among Burns' failings you will not find self pity.

''What is it about me?'' he joked when we chatted earlier this week. ''This chairman didn't speak to me and the one I had before didn't like me.''

In fact, his optimism, self- belief and ambition not only remain intact but are perhaps even strengthened by the lessons learned at the ground known, self effacingly, as the Madejski Stadium. He has no doubts that he was on the right road but needed a bit more time and luck to build what he knew was possible.

''Going from the English Premiership to the second division was a change that took me about a year to get to grips with. You need that time to understand the market that you need to be involved in for players for that league. I took six or seven players in with me who I thought would help us through, but in most cases it didn't work.

''After being in it for a season I did get to know what was needed there and the players I brought in have done well. But the other thing was injuries that left us without the players we bought. We invested #3m, and of that two and a half million's worth never got started.

''The chairman was in Kuala Lumpur all last year. When I called him he never called me back but sent word through the chief executive. Then, when he came back at the start of the season, I thought we would get down to talking on a daily basis about the team and the plans we had. But that never happened.

''In fact, it was worse. There was no contact at all. I think he was influenced by other people. He was a very rich man, but he seemed to me to be very weak. I suspected it was coming because I didn't think he would be strong enough to see it through. We had only played six games and I knew we could turn it round.''

Burns did not have any real money when he was at Rugby Park, ''but Bob Fleeting, although there were some nasty things said when we parted company, would have backed us with his life. He was a gambler for Kilmarnock and it paid off with a new stadium and a good club.

''Looking back, if I had the experience I have now I would have been much better equipped to go to Celtic Park. I am 42 and I believe that management is a bit like being a player. You are a different player at 21 than you are at 25 and again at 30. It is the same as a manager. I know more than I did when I was 37, but I am sure I will learn more all the time.''

Like most of his kind, Burns rates the coaching side as the most enjoyable.

''It's great to get out on the park and talk football to players, especially if they are receptive. I learned a lot from Alan Irvine at Newcastle, who is one of the best coaches I have ever known.''

However resilient a personality may be, the knowledge that you are out of a job can have a debilitating effect. If that happened to Burns, he has recovered with typical energy. ''To be honest, I am only five or six days out and I am champing at the bit. It is just a case of waiting for someone who wants a manager or help in the coaching side. I would be only too willing to do that.

''I am not looking for someone else's job, I would be happy to help out.''

Burns is able to face the possibility of life outside football, but his nature does not allow him to dwell upon it. ''I feel I am at the right stage as a manager to do the job. I still think I have a lot to offer, I don't want to be on the periphery, talking about other managers and players. I love the game and it is hard for me to imagine being out of it for long.''

He would like to continue his career back in Scotland. To that end he, his wife Rosemary and family will settle back north in the middle of November.

''We had hardly any social life down here. I said to Packie (Pat Bonner, his assistant) that it was hard to believe that after all the hours we put in we got no reward.''

Burns still automatically turns to the Celtic result on a Saturday but has not been back at Parkhead since he left two years ago.

''There is nothing in that,'' he said, ''I have just not had the chance. I have spoken to Kenny and I wished John Barnes all the best when he got the job. I will go back once I am up home again.

''I don't have any bitterness about what happened at Celtic or anywhere else for that matter. Life's too short for that. I take it all as part of experience in life.''

It seems to me that there are some experiences in fooball life, successes, too, still to be enjoyed by Tommy Burns, whatever Mr Madejski thinks.