Sympathy for Burley

The Saints boss must have been quite excited this time last year.

He had just spent £7m on assembling a new squad and knew he had plenty of young talent already at his disposal.

The plan was to have a crack at reaching the Premiership, to finish in the top six and see what happens.

It was mission accomplished, to a large degree.

As the season wore on, the team gelled and only a few penalties stood between Saints and one more game of 90 minutes for the top flight.

Last year if Burley would have been offered that he might well have taken it knowing, as we all did, that promotion last May might well have been followed by top flight disaster in 2007/08.

Even with the shoot-out defeat, it signalled clear progress from the season before and suggested the players he had brought together were a good blend.

And what's more, based on what he was told last summer, he would be keeping that squad together for another season and then adding a couple of quality signings to tip the balance in Saints' favour.

Yes, 2007/08 would be the season where Saints would walk back into the cash-rich Premiership.

However, the lack of investment in the club and the loss of the parachute payment has meant the reality has been very different from the theory.

This summer Burley has had to sell his two best players from last season and cut back the wage bill.

He has also had virtually no money with which to strengthen his squad.

Don't be fooled by the doom mongers, what he's been left with is not useless.

He has good players, albeit they are clearly light at the back, but on paper with a couple of additions there is still enough quality to expect the side to make a decent fist of things in the next nine months.

But Burley, for his part, is probably hoping to lower a few expectations.

Many supporters have been brought up with nothing other than top flight football and everything that brings.

Even the past two seasons in the Championship have been alright to a degree with the parachute payments.

But the loss of those means a very harsh reality is hitting home.

That reality is that if no investment comes into the club then getting out of this division is going to be a struggle. Possibly, it will be a drawn out affair - like it has been for Coventry and Ipswich.

For Burley's part, it's important that supporters realise this new way of life.

For him, a lowering of the expectations might just give the breathing space to pull off something special this season.

But the reality is that not getting promoted is NOT a failure on behalf of the manager.

Despite the inevitable raised eyebrows at occasional team selections and tactics, as there is with any manager, there can be no doubt that Burley is still the best man Saints could possibly get in this situation.

In all truth, with the club as it is at the moment, they would probably struggle to attract Burley - or anybody of his calibre - had they been hunting a manager this summer.

Nobody, probably Burley included, quite knows what will happen this season.

Knowing Saints over the past few years, it will probably be a bumpy ride.

But all supporters should at least recognise that the stability and quality Burley brings is a bonus the club can ill-afford to lose.

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