THE claret and blue umbrella turned out to be surplus to requirements.

While carrying the object into his first press conference was an inspired way of nailing his colours firmly to the Burnley mast, Steve Cotterill hardly needed protection from any media storm.

There may have been a drizzle outside but inside there a serene calm where the only thing raining in were the questions. And even then it was more of a spit than a downpour.

But Cotterill probably appreciated the fact that there was no frenzy. It certainly made a refreshing change from the last time he was wheeled out in front of the press pack, following Howard Wilkinson into the eye of the Sunderland cyclone.

Turf Moor yesterday wasn't reverberating to the sound of gasps of surprise, jaws dropping to the floor or any buzz of anticipation - thanks mainly to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, we all knew the man Dave Edmundson and Barry Kilby would be flanking come 10am.

A badly-kept secret? Well maybe, but the official media release handed out yesterday was dated June 3 2001, suggesting the board have kept it under wraps longer than we thought!

While obviously a mis-print, it would later emerge that it was in fact two years ago that chairman Barry Kilby was first alerted to Cotterill's talents when he masterminded an FA Cup embarrassment at the hands of Cheltenham.

It was a typical talking-up of a new boss that chairmen are obliged to do in these circumstances, but from the man himself there was no such Jose Maurinho-style bravado.

And six years to the day that Stan Ternent was making his press room bow as the Clarets' new boss, Cotterill was never going to spice things up the way Chelsea's new man had done a day earlier.

"He will be a tough act to follow," was the only reference to his predecessor. Definitely no Maurinho.

The laid-back, relaxed vibe of the press conference suited Cotterill, who, apart from a few nervous fiddles of his jacket buttons, preserved an ice-cool exterior throughout.

It's certainly served him well so far in his management career which is probably why he's 40 next month but looks closer to 30.

And facing the cameras was no big deal to him either, revealing his spell as a TV pundit has given him an insight into the way the media works.

Hence, he glided like a swan from interview to interview once the official conference was over, and for the army of photographers that invaded the pitch, posed for the standard 'holding up a home shirt' shots.

A cliched image it might be but, in terms of showing your true colours, it certainly had more clout than the umbrella.