CLARETS chairman Barry Kilby may have been disappointed at seeing his club knocked out of the FA Cup but he could at least reflect on a canny deal that earned his club £200,000.

Before a ball was kicked, the two clubs, both having suffered financial crises following the collapse of ITV Digital, had agreed that the £400,000 prize for the winner of the quarter-final would be shared.

"Not a bad bit of business in the end," he confirmed with a rueful smile as he made his way home from Vicarage Road.

"We had looked at doing the same thing with Fulham in the previous round but their chairman Mohamed Al Fayed did not agree.

Kilby's opposite number at Watford, Graham Simpson, was happy to agree to the split, knowing that the loser would welcome the money to soften the blow while the winner would have plenty of riches awaiting them in the semi-finals.

And the Burnley chairman added: "We would have settled for this at the start of round three and we have had two brilliant runs in the cups.

"We would have loved to have gone on but it was not to be."

Burnley boss Stan Ternent admitted he had no complaints about the result, but he also thanked Watford for their generosity in sharing the £400,000 prize money from the match equally with his beaten side.

Ternent said: "The two chairmen had done a deal that whatever happened we'd get £200,000 each and that's much needed.

"We got £265,000 from the telly and a percentage of the gate, and for both clubs the money has been very important - but it is no consolation to us."