PAUL Lake has left Turf Moor as Burnley's physiotherapist jinx strikes again.

Lake's unfortunate departure due to "personal reasons" means that the Clarets have lost a physio in each of the last three summers.

Last year Nick Worth quit to join West Bromwich Albion, and 12 months before that Andy Jones, who has just joined Charlton, followed Adrian Heath to Everton.

His predecessor, Mark Leather, also made the trip from Burnley to Merseyside when he moved to Liverpool.

Burnley boss Stan Ternent, who brought in Lake at the start of last season, has already begun his search for a new medical man with a couple of potential targets in the frame.

Former Manchester City star Lake, who fitted Ternent's criteria as a phsyio with a strong football background, landed his first senior club post when linking up with the Clarets.

It was a baptism of fire for the 30-year-old, whose own highly promising career was cut short by a series of knee injuries.

However, Lake coped well with a crippling injury list and was highly thought of at Turf Moor.

But he was unable to continue in the job because of developments away from work.

"Reluctantly there has been a parting of the ways for private reasons," confirmed club chairman Barry Kilby.

"We would have liked to have kept him and he would have liked to have stayed but owing to personal reasons he has had to relinquish his post." There is nothing sinister about Lake's departure and the Clarets have again been victims of circumstances beyond their control as they seek some continuity in the medical room.

The club has cover to deal with players currently undergoing treatment and rehabilitation programmes but moves are already underway to make a permanent appointment.

"There are one or two irons in the fire and we will have somebody by the time it comes to the crunch," Kilby added.

Meanwhile, former Burnley boss Chris Waddle has said that his differences with the previous Clarets board and the frustrations of dealing with Second Division football mean he is in no hurry to dive back into the management game.

Waddle, whose Burnley team only avoided relegation to Division Three on the final day of the 1997/98 campaign, said: "I'm at Sheffield Wednesday now where I'll be looking after the reserves next season and I'm enjoying that. I had problems with the board at Burnley which had a lot to do with why I left.

"I don't really know whether I'll go back into management. If something happened and turned up on my lap I would listen but I'm really in no rush and happy where I am and what I'm learning.

"I remember personally that I experienced a lot of frustration at Burnley having played at a good level and as a manager I found myself looking at certain situations as if still a player, seeing passes that weren't being made."

Waddle is backing his former England team-mate John Barnes to make a more successful go of it as head coach at Celtic.

He added: "I think John should avoid that sensation because there is a huge difference between the English Second Division and being in charge of one of the best teams in the Scottish Premier League."

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