The Martin Cummings column

WELL, the first thing to say is congratulations on a job well done.

Before Saturday's win, the Clarets had been edgy, just a little too close to the wrong end of the table.

But having taken three points against a Nottingham Forest side who should be doing much better given the quality of their squad, the picture looks much rosier.

Given that Burnley were without the likes of Coyne, Chaplow and Sinclair, the victory was all the more impressive.

One man who played a key part was John McGreal. It's not hard to see why Joe Royle was so disappointed to lose him. He might just be the best centre back in the Championship. And more than that, he might just be the best centre back Burnley FC have had on their books since the majestic Mitchell Thomas.

McGreal shares many of Thomas's attributes - he reads the game superbly, appears totally unflustered when under pressure and goes about his business in a quiet effective manner, happy to let his class do the talking.

He is the very embodiment of the manager's strategy of importing quality rather than quantity to the club.

On Saturday night, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a dinner held to tie in with the publication of Dave Thomas's excellent new book 'No Nay Never' - an anthology of writing about Burnley Football Club.

During the course of the evening I got chatting to Steve Cotterill. I am delighted to report back that if passion, enthusiasm and commitment are important in a manager, then the man is over qualified.

I had only bobbed over to introduce myself and say hello. Twenty minutes later I was still there, as Steve grabbed a sheet of paper and went through his tactics with me.

At one point, Andy Lochhead (still an imposing man mountain of a figure to this day) tapped him on his shoulder to tell him his dinner was going cold.

"It's okay," he smiled, "I'm talking about football, I'm passionate about it."

This writer can testify to that. After all, how many other managers can you think of who would give up their time, not to mention their dinner, in such an unselfish manner?

Conversation over, I returned to my table and sat down. Next to Jimmy McIlroy. But that's another story.

Name dropping? You bet. It's not every Saturday you meet heroes from our club's glorious past as well as getting the chance to speak with the guy who is looking after its future, and doing a fine job of it too. Keep up the good work, Steve.