ADRIAN Heath will decide before the end of the week whether to leave Burnley for Everton.

Howard Kendall, who is set to become the Merseyside club's new manager, wants Heath as his assistant. The two were holding talks last night (Wednesday).

Heath played under Kendall at Everton in the 1980s and was his number two at Sheffield United before becoming manager of the Clarets.

Kendall will move to Everton as soon as the club agrees a compensation payment for United.

The Burnley boss says there has been no official offer from Goodison Park and it is not a foregone conclusion that he will go. But he has made no secret of his affection for Everton and his admiration for Kendall.

When the Clarets' assistant boss Colin Harvey left for Everton two weeks ago, Heath did not stand in his way, because he understood the emotional pull of the premiership outfit. If Heath goes the same way, Burnley will be left with a desperate search for a new management team before the start of the season, and a headache over the transfer deals Heath has been working on.

Heath said: "I don't want people thinking that just because Everton have come in I'm going to drop everything and run off up to Liverpool, because I appreciate everything that has gone on at Burnley."

But he gave a strong hint that if the right offer was made he would take it. "The one thing that I insist on before I do anything is that somebody from Everton makes it official and goes through the chairman. Then it's down to the people at Burnley.

Heath signed a 2-year contract in March 1996, but he said: "I think that if somebody wants to leave badly enough they can, and if they want to stay badly enough they do.

"It would be a lie to say I wouldn't be interested in a club the size of Everton, but it would also be a lie to say I am not very, very happy where I am at Burnley."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.