SATURDAY, April 9, 2005; The day Stan Ternent will hope that revenge is a dish best served cold.

Ternent has been itching to get back into management ever since Burnley chairman Barry Kilby dropped the bombshell news last May that he was not renewing the manager's contract after six eventful years.

And this morning, that date four months down the line must be etched at the forefront of Ternent's mind amid the hullabaloo surrounding his appointment as new Gillingham manager.

For that is when the Clarets, now under the astute managerial leadership of Steve Cotterill, travel to the Priestfield Stadium for what undoubtedly sets up a tasty reunion.

Ternent was known to be privately seething at the way his tenure at Turf Moor ended, and there is little doubt the passion that burns within will be fanned by the flames of his acrimonious departure.

He still loves Burnley Football Club; of that there is in no doubt. But business is business and in Ternent - who, once Micky Adams turned it down, beat off the likes of Dave Bassett, Gary Megson, Colin Lee and Steve McMahon to the job - Gillingham have a man with a proven track record of keeping clubs afloat.

He performed miracles at Bury and supporters of Burnley Football Club will never forget the rollercoaster ride he took them on after succeeding Chris Waddle in June 1998.

The ship was steadied in the first season and then everyone's expectations were surpassed the following year when he turned around the tanker and steered Burnley back into the old Division One.

The Premiership play-offs came tantalisingly close in the following two seasons, Burnley twice finishing seventh; their highest league placing in over a quarter of a century.

But as the financial climate worsened, so Ternent's own reign took a turn for the worst and Kilby acted swiftly and decisively.

Suddenly, for Ternent, next April cannot come soon enough.