Burnley confirm Ternent appointment
On 2nd June 1998, a Turf Moor press conference confirmed the appointment of Stan Ternent as the new manager of Burnley Football Club on a three-year contract as the club opted for experience following the events of the previous year that had seen both Adrian Heath and Chris Waddle leave the post.
Ternent arrived with a new assistant but this was a family affair for the former Claret who still lived in town. With him was his wife Kath (pictured with him) and alongside them were Sam Ellis, his assistant, and his wife Ellen.
You will get organisation, endeavour, commitment and a will to win
There was no doubt, things were going to be very different at Burnley under the new manager, and I don’t think anyone would have had any complaints about that given what we’d been through in the previous season.
The new man was quick to hit out at those accusing him of being a long ball merchant. “You don’t see Franck Lebouef pulled up for long passes,” Ternent said. He added: “Whether it is the long ball or the short game we play, we will devise a system to suit the players at our disposal. But, if we do play long, it will be channelled in the right direction, geared to win games. It will not be a percentage game.”
He added: “If you look at it, we have the facility to score goals. I know Andy Payton well from our time at Hull and I know Andy Cooke can score goals. They are good players, and I am looking forward to working with everyone in pre-season.”
Ternent, who was close to his 52nd birthday, said he would give it three years at Burnley before retiring. “I know where I hope we will be at the end of my three years,“ he added. “I can’t make any predictions, but obviously I hope to make progress.” He confirmed: “What you will get from Burnley now is organisation, endeavour, commitment and a will to win.
“The team will have no fear, they will have respect but no fear of losing. We want to be first, some people are frightened of being first because it is hard work. Fitness is a pre-requisite. If you are playing the game, you have to be fit. All good players are fit, you have to be to give yourself a chance. The hard work goes on through the week in training, but on Saturday, it’s showtime.
“Players should go out and enjoy themselves and show what they can do. But you have to be committed and have a go. People will forgive you if you give your all, and anyone who doesn’t give there all isn’t wanted here.”
Peter Stevenson, then with BBC North West, asked the new manager what his plans were. “To win the first game,” Ternent said. “And then?,” Stevenson enquired. “To win the second game,” was the answer.
The manager then moved to speak to fans who had arrived to witness his appointment. He told them: “What we need is togetherness, and I ask the fans to get behind the players and staff. Together we have got a chance, although it is a very difficult league this time.”
He added: “It would have been a difficult decision to leave Bury if it had been for anyone other than Burnley. The challenge was too much to refuse. Burnley was my first club, and I learned good habits there which I intend to try and put into practice here again. The club have had some fantastic players and a superb tradition from the early 1960s. A lot of the players were home-grown but somewhere we lost our way. Perhaps we can try to get back to that sort of system.”
Although he confirmed that he had no idea whether money was available or not for new signings, saying It wasn’t something he’d discussed with the chairman, speculation immediately started regarding potential incoming signings. He was asked about Peter Swan, who he’d signed for Bury from Burnley a year earlier, and Sunderland’s Steve Agnew, who was out of contract. Ternent just said to that: “I can’t comment on speculation.”
Ternent, back home in Burnley where his playing career started back in the 1960s, but a playing career that flourished at Carlisle. The club were still locked in talks with Peter Shackleton who still hadn’t pressed the button on the multi-million pound takeover with Ray Ingleby waiting in the background.
It looked as though it was going to be an interesting period at Turf Moor.
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