Oi Camara, what are you pushing him for?

“Steve Howard's goal return right now is just terrific for us, that's three in three games,” he said after the striker had recorded his third match winning goal in the space of a week. “He's now getting better service with more balls into the box and the delivery from set pieces is better. David Jones' cross for the goal was terrific, Steve always puts his head on the line and it is great for him. That's why he is up there with the leading scorers in this division.”

Turning to the supporters he said: “I thought the crowd was terrific tonight. They realised the lads were being put under the cosh by Burnley and they really responded, especially in that second half.

“Burnley are a big, powerful team and we knew it was going to be difficult. It was never going to be free flowing and after the first twenty-five minutes it was a scrap. But we kept a clean sheet and got another valuable three points, that is the important thing.

“It is probably the first time we have scored in the first five minutes all season, it is usually at the other end of the game with us, and if Craig Fagan had scored rather than hitting a post, it would probably have been game over.”

Steve Cotterill had no option but to speak about the referee, he was asked direct questions on his performance, and he was not happy with him. “There's nothing in Eric's challenge and it did not warrant another yellow card. It was in stoppage time and I honestly think it was harsh. He is an experienced referee, it is the ninetieth minute, and it was just ridiculous.

“I've known Steve Howard for years. We played against each other in the Third Division and I think he is a really good, honest lad. I just said I thought he went down a bit easily and he came over and had a chat about it, but nobody deserved to be sent off.”

On his own dismissal he said: “I took exception to Mo Camara pushing out at Kyle Lafferty, a 19-year-old kid. He came over and I said ‘Oi Camara, what are you pushing him for?' I didn't swear, but what will happen somewhere along the line is they will say ‘use of language'. Is it a winnable case? No chance, because it never is and I don't know whether appealing is even worth it.

“What are we going to do? Take the passion out of the game? If that is what we want, then the fans won't come. I thought it was a passionate game all round, but did Djemba-Djemba deserve to be sent off? No. Did Billy Davies? No.”

Having discussed transfers, when he revealed that Gifton Noel-Williams was signing for Real Murcia in Spain, he finally had chance to speak on the game.

“We are delighted with our performance and I can't believe we lost that game,” he said. “We fell asleep from a free kick, but other than that we have come to a team at the top of the table, we have dominated but not come away with anything and that is a disappointment.

“On another night Kyle Lafferty could have had a hat trick and that is the best we have played for a while. If we can keep up that sort of performance, that will get us good results.”