Club respond following Lafferty comments

Last updated : 28 May 2008 By Tony Scholes
In that article Lafferty claimed that he was ready to leave Burnley and certainly gave the impression that things had worsened for him since Owen Coyle replaced Steve Cotterill as manager. He referred to the interest from Rangers and Wolves and said he would be delighted to join either of those clubs.

Rumours this afternoon suggest that both these clubs, and potentially a third, have been in contact with the Clarets, although there is no evidence that either of them have tabled any new bids. It is thought Rangers had a £2 million offer rejected recently whilst Wolves upped the anti with a bid of £2.5 million plus Stephen Elliott.

I've never known anything quite like it in all the years I've been watching Burnley. Yes we had the Nogan/Heath spat but it was nothing like this and there was no doubt today that the club had to respond.

They have done so with statements from both manager Owen Coyle and from Lafferty himself who seems to now be implying that it was the fans and not the change of manager that has unsettled him. Read into it what you will, I certainly have my views on it.

The statements read as follows:

Owen Coyle

At the end of the day, Kyle Lafferty is under contract at Burnley Football Club for two more years and his comments come as a big surprise to everyone. Kyle was in here every day with a big smile on his face and that was evident in his play.

I spoke to him earlier today and he tells me he loves the club, but he is at that stage of his career where, if the right offer came along, he would want to move on.

I can understand the disappointment that as a young lad, bigger clubs are coveting him, but they have never met our valuation of the player.

When we come back in early July we will sit down and have a chat because it is unlikely that anything will happen until then.

Kyle has been a major part of our plans and I reiterate that Burnley Football Club will not be forced into selling players.

Kyle Lafferty

In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, I feel some of the comments were taken out of context.

In no way were my comments aimed at the current manager or the club in general because I feel that under the previous manager and under Owen Coyle, I was treated really well.

However, despite adoring most of the Burnley supporters, I feel there was always a small section of support that I could never win over.

That in turn was affecting my performances and, when clubs like Rangers and Wolves make approaches, it is only natural that I would be interested.

My performances did dip in the middle of the season, when I let some comments get to me.

Certain people I was close to have left the club and it no longer feels like home.

I just feel a fresh start is what I need and it is up to the club to see what offers come their way that they see as acceptable.