Laws set for Burnley talks

Burnley chairman Barry Kilby plans talks with manager Brian Laws after the club's relegation from the Barclays Premier League was confirmed yesterday.

The 4-0 home defeat by Liverpool ensured a return to the Coca-Cola Championship after just one season in the top flight.

Laws, whose record of 14 defeats in 17 matches since taking over from Owen Coyle in mid-January hardly guarantees him a future at Turf Moor, confidently announced in his post-match press conference that he would be at the club next season.

Kilby is confident the Clarets will be able to bounce back and plans to talk to Laws about the future.

"We'll sit down with Brian in the summer. He didn't have a great hand when he arrived, and we'll see where we go from there," said the chairman.

"Obviously, after getting to the Premier League after 33 years, it hurts a little bit that we've gone down after just a year.

"We were determined that if we did go down we would go down strong, that's what we've tried to do.

"We will have another crack and try to get back into the Premier League."

Kilby said sensible planning meant there were no serious financial implications for the club - unlike their two fellow relegation victims Portsmouth and Hull - and that would give them a good base on which to build their plans for promotion again.

"West Brom have been a good model for us," he told BBC Sport.

"You can't bet the ranch on these things, and if we can get back up we will be stronger for it.

"We intend to be back and we'll have a good chance. We are free of debt, have a good wage bill and will give it a good crack."