Burley arrives on south coast

Last Updated : 22-Dec-2005 by

This will be Burley’s fifth club as manager, prior to joining Hearts in the summer he had been in charge of Colchester, Ipswich and Derby and it was at Ipswich where he had some success, taking the Suffolk club back into the Premiership.

Last season he turned Derby County from relegation strugglers to a play off team but sensationally quit Pride Park at the beginning of June. If that was unexpected then his sudden departure from Tynecastle was after he had taken Hearts to the top of the SPL in his first season in charge, and he has since been on the look out for another job.

Having escaped the clutches of Vladimir and Roman Romanov north of the border, he’s now agreed to work with Rupert Lowe the somewhat eccentric chairman of Southampton who seems to lose football managers almost as often as he goes shooting ducks.

He is taking the title of Head Coach at St. Mary’s, whilst there is a promotion for Sir Clive Woodward who assumes the role of Director of Football. Woodward has stressed that Burley will have complete control of team selection, tactics and coaching issues.