IT'S the oldest trick in the book. The struggling manager at an under-achieving club has the fans on his back.

The solution? Simple. Go after one of the division's top players and make sure the press (and therefore by logical extension the supporters) know all about it, in order to buy you some time and credibility.

Joe Kinnear's move smacks of desperation. And having become well acquainted with the relegation zone this season, he has every reason to feel desperate.

Yet equally desperate are Clarets supporters, desperate for reassurances that Robbie Blake will be a Burnley player for the foreseeable future.

The good news is that Steve Cotterill does not want to see him go. In the words of the chief executive, Dave Edmundson: "The manager knocked the bid straight back and said Robbie Blake is not for sale."

Frankly, this is exactly what one would expect to here from the man who made him captain and declared him one of the best strikers he has ever worked with. And were it solely up to Cotterill that would be the end of the matter.

But of course, that isn't the case. And although Edmundson said: "We are never thinking of selling Robbie Blake," he did concede that, "you never know. Every player has his price if it seems to be something that will benefit Burnley Football Club."

In fairness to the Chief Executive, he was only publicly voicing what everyone privately knows. Quite what Robbie Blake's price is is open to conjecture.

Clearly, it is over £300,000 but probably some way short of the £1m Burnley paid for his services.

Consolation lies in the fact that there are a number of reasons why it makes no sense for the club to sell the skipper. He is our best player, our leading scorer, top of the list for assists and although his form has been hit and miss this season, he remains, as evidenced in Brighton, our match-winner.

Were Blake out of contract at the end of this season, with no prospect of him signing anther, one could understand that the club would reluctantly consider offers.

But that is not the case. Blake is under contract until the end of next season.

The only argument for his sale would be that the cash generated along with the money freed up in terms of wages would facilitate the introduction of two or three new players.

Yet given Steve Cotterill's ethos of valuing quality over quantity, such a scenario seems unlikely.