Burnley

Barnsley sign striker Christensen
Barnsley have signed striker Kim Christensen from Danish side OB for an undisclosed fee. The 27-year-old Dane has secured a two-year contract at Oakwell and may be registered in time for the league match at Colchester next weekend. Christensen began his career with Lyngby, scoring 18 goals in 70 games, before he moved to German side Hamburger SV in 2001. He has also played for Dutch side FC Twente and Danish outfit Brondby.

Burnley sweat on Berisha injury
Burnley boss Steve Cotterill fears striker Besart Berisha could be out for up to six weeks with a knee injury. Berisha, 22, picked up the complaint while playing for Albania against Malta last week and the Clarets are now awaiting test results on the problem. "Besart has hurt his knee playing and it is a little but more serious than we thought," said Cotterill. "That could be a five or six-weeker and we need to see the specialist on that one on Thursday."

Burnley lose Berisha for campaign
Burnley striker Besart Berisha has been ruled out for the rest of the season before kicking a ball for the Clarets. Albania forward Berisha, 22, injured cruciate knee ligaments in an international against Malta last month. The Clarets signed Berisha from German club Hamburg for £340,000 but he is yet to appear for Steve Cotterill's team. Cotterill said: "He snapped his cruciate and had it operated on on Wednesday, so he'll be out for the rest of the season."

Owls rebuff Burnley bid for Laws
Sheffield Wednesday have turned down an approach from fellow Championship side Burnley for their manager Brian Laws, reports SSB. Laws, whose position was under threat following an inconsistent start to the season, has since steered Wednesday to a six game unbeaten run. Owls chief executive Kaven Walker says Laws will be staying at Hillsborough "I had a call from Burnley chairman Barry Kilby asking to speak to Brian. The approach was rejected immediately." Burnley have been without a manager since Steve Cotterill left Turf Moor by mutual consent on 8 November. Following Cotterill's departure, the Clarets have leapfrogged Wednesday and are three places above them in 13th. Former Scunthorpe manager Laws has been in charge at Wednesday since 6 November 2006 and led the club to ninth place last season. "We're a little bit disappointed in Burnley releasing this to the media because just over 12 months ago we spoke to Burnley asking if we could approach their manager, he said no, asked us to say nothing, and we agreed on that," Walker added. "I believed we had the same agreement yesterday. Brian's aware of their interest but why would he want to go to a smaller club anyway. We want him to stay with us " Laws admitted on Thursday that he was flattered by Burnley's approach but pledged his future to his current employers. "When another club want to speak to you it's obviously because they think you're doing something right, so in that respect Burnley's approach is flattering," he said. "It gives you confidence and is a nice feeling - because not so long ago we were struggling here. "But I know what I'm doing is right. Sheffield Wednesday have said no to Burnley, so that's the end of it. I'm committed to this club and certainly don't see my future anywhere else at the moment. "What does concern me, though, are the horrendous statistics on managers in the Football League. "Burnley's approach for me means there has been yet another casualty and the fact Aidy Boothroyd is the longest-serving manager in the Championship with not even three years yet at Watford is just ridiculous."

Fee set over Coyle Burnley move
St Johnstone manager Owen Coyle is nearing a move to English Championship outfit Burnley after the two clubs agreed a figure over compensation. The Scottish First Division club had said it would not allow Coyle to open talks with the Championship outfit until a deal was struck. Coyle, 41, is now free to hold talks over the vacancy at Turf Moor. Burnley have been without a manager since Steve Cotterill left by mutual consent on 8 November. Speaking earlier on Wednesday, St Johnstone managing director Stewart Duff said the club would only give Burnley permission to talk to Coyle once compensation had been agreed. "We recognise that Owen will leave St Johnstone to better himself and we won't deny him that opportunity," he said. "But we do feel Owen has a value at St Johnstone and that value should be recognised by any clubs wishing to take him on - just like a transfer fee for a player." Coyle took charge of St Johnstone in 2005, with the Perth club missing out on promotion to the Scottish Premier League in the final seconds of last season. He previously had a spell as co-player-manager at Falkirk, having started his playing career at Dumbarton and playing for a number of clubs, including Airdrieonians, Dundee United and Bolton Wanderers.

McInnes is new St Johnstone boss
Derek McInnes is the new manager of St Johnstone, with the 36-year-old agreeing a two-and-a-half year contract at McDiarmid Park. The Perth club are replacing Owen Coyle and his assistant Sandy Stewart after the pair moved on to Burnley. Former Dundee United and Rangers midfielder McInnes moved to St Johnstone from Millwall 10 months ago. McInnes, who had been coaching the reserves and under 19s, was approached by Clyde earlier this season. However, he ruled himself out of the running for the post after being interviewed by the Cumbernauld club. Stewart was in charge of Saints for Sunday's 3-2 Challenge Cup final win over Dunfermline. After the victory he had indicated he would be interested in succeeding Coyle but, on Monday, decided to follow his boss to Turf Moor. "It's the hardest decision of my footballing career," Stewart told the club website. "The opportunity to work down south to help Owen try to take Burnley into the Premiership is just too great," he said. "Who knows, maybe in two or three years time I'll look back and regret the decision but that is the chance you take and I know that I'll regret it if I don't take the opportunity to try it out," Stewart said.

Burnley launch Gudjonsson appeal
Burnley have appealed against the red card shown to midfielder Joey Gudjonsson in their 3-2 derby defeat by Preston on Saturday. The Icelandic international was sent off by referee Lee Mason for an alleged stamp on Preston striker Neil Mellor. After reviewing the incident on video, the club have lodged an appeal to the FA, which should be heard on Tuesday. Burnley will not appeal against the red card shown to Chris McCann in the same game. He will serve a three-match ban.

Defender Varga loaned to Burnley
Stanislav Varga has joined Burnley from Sunderland on a month's loan. Varga, 35, completed his switch to Turf Moor in time for him to be eligible for Burnley's FA Cup tie against Arsenal this weekend. Burnley boss Owen Coyle said: "I have known him for years, both from when I played against him and during my time as a coach and manager. "In the light of our injuries and suspensions, he will bring a physical presence to the backline." Varga has been allowed to leave the Stadium of Light as he is not in manager Roy Keane's plans. The former Celtic defender has not played a first-team match for Sunderland this season. Coyle added: "I'm delighted to get Varga on loan. I'm sure he will complement the squad and have a big impact on the team."

Owls reject Burnley's Whelan bid
Sheffield Wednesday have rejected an offer from Championship rivals Burnley for midfielder Glenn Whelan. Whelan, who will be 24 on Sunday, is out of contract this summer and so would be able to leave Hillsborough on a free transfer. SSB understands that Burnley's bid was considerably higher than the one tabled by Plymouth which was rejected earlier this week. Whelan has made 139 league appearances since joining the Owls in 2004. Boss Brian Laws told Wednesday's website: "I can confirm that we have received a bid from Burnley, but it is certainly not an offer that interests us at this time."

Burnley accept Addicks' Gray bid
Burnley striker Andy Gray has been given permission to speak to Charlton Athletic after the two clubs agreed a £1.5m fee, reports SSB. The whole package will include add-ons, which could take the fee to £2m. Gray, 30, will now travel to London to discuss personal terms with Charlton and will not be in the squad for Saturday's game away to Coventry City. He has scored 30 times in 73 games for Burnley since joining in March 2006.

Burnley bid for Riordan rejected
Celtic have rejected a £400,000 bid from Championship outfit Burnley for striker Derek Riordan. Riordan signed from Hibernian in 2006, but has been unable to establish himself in Gordon Strachan's side. The 23-year-old has made just 10 appearances for the Scottish champions this season, mostly from the bench. BBC Scotland understands Strachan values the player much higher than the current bid, but would rather retain Riordan than accept Burnley's offer.

Lafferty linked with Celtic move
Burnley's Northern Ireland international Kyle Lafferty is being linked with a move to Celtic. The Glasgow giants are reported to have tabled a £2.5m bid for Lafferty which would also mean Celtic striker Derek Riordan heading to Burnley. Celtic did sign Manchester City's Greek striker Georgios Samaras on Tuesday and it's not clear whether this may cool the club's interest in Lafferty. Rangers fan Lafferty is believed to be keen on a move to Celtic Park. The 20-year-old, who was the subject of a £500,000 bid by Celtic last January, signed a new contract in March which ties him to Turf Moor until 2010. However, Celtic are believed to be keen to sign Lafferty before the transfer window closes on Thursday.

Burnley performance annoys Coyle
Burnley manager Owen Coyle has admitted the Clarets play-off hopes have faltered after the defeat by Wolves. The 3-1 reverse at Turf Moor leaves Burnley three points off sixth place and Coyle says the result was a bitter blow to their promotion ambitions. "We've caused our own downfall and gifted them each of the goals," he told SSB. "You don't think when you're preparing the team before a game that the errors we made are going to happen." The midweek victory over Charlton had given Burnley renewed impetus to climb up the table, and Coyle says his players should have been able to build on that performance. "I think we had given ourselves a tremendous platform with that result and came out here to get three points, but we can't keep gifting goals if we expect to win games." He added: "What we're looking for at this stage of the season is people that are mentally strong."

We have to win last six - Coyle
Burnley boss Owen Coyle has refused to admit defeat in the Clarets' attempt to reach the Championship play-offs. Despite slipping three points behind sixth place after Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Preston, Coyle remains confident his side can still bridge the gap. "I think everything will have to go our way to do it," he told SSB. "What we'll have to do is win our last six games and that starts on Saturday against Barnsley." Coyle also says he is fully aware of the challenge that lies ahead of him and his number two, Sandy Stewart, who came south from Scotland with him when he arrived at Turf Moor in November. "We never got the job because we're the best team in the Championship," points out Coyle. "We got the job because there's work to be done and we recognise that."

Football players robbed of £2,500
Footballers have had £2,500 in cash stolen from their dressing rooms during a Southampton Football Club home game. Police were called to St Mary's Stadium shortly after the end of the match against Burnley on Saturday. Five home and nine away players had cash stolen from their belongings in the changing rooms during the second half of the Championship match. Hampshire Constabulary said it was investigating whether the doors were unlocked and was studying CCTV footage. A Southampton Football Club spokesman said: "We can confirm there was an incident which we are investigating but we cannot comment further until we have more details." Club officials, security staff and stewards were helping police with their inquires. Police said there did not appear to be any witnesses to the thefts, which took place sometime after the second half started at 1600 BST.

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