ADRIAN Heath kicked off his Turf Moor managerial career with a remarkable 1-0 victory at Bristol City and declared today: "We've stopped the rot."

Heath guided the Clarets to a rousing late win as Burnley claimed their first Division Two victory since January 13 at Ashton Gate.

He said: "In general I was very pleased with the application and determination.

"The most pleasing part was that we kept our shape and discipline. Obviously I was not as pleased with the overall performance but it is a great start.

"They'll be sick as parrots, won't they, because they dominated quite a bit of the match.

"But it is swings and roundabouts, isn't it? Sometimes you get a result when you don't perhaps deserve it. That may have been the case at Bristol. I'd have settled for a point to stop the rot. We managed all three so somebody likes us."

He added: "Ultimately, though, it is victory which gives players confidence and this is a fantastic morale booster for us. That is the most important aspect of all.

"There is a lot of work to be done. But it's not going to be for the want of trying from either mine or the players' point of view."

Heath paid a warm tribute to goalkeeper Marlon Beresford whose second-half penalty save from David Seal set up Burnley's late, late show. Heath added: "I did say on the bench that I fancied Marlon to save the penalty. Certainly in all the years I've played football he's probably one of the best goalkeepers from a penalty situation I've seen.

"He doesn't give much away and he's got a great record. The lad struck it well but Marlon guessed the right way."

Burnley snatched victory thanks to Kurt Nogan's 83rd minute strike. Heath added: "To be fair to Kurt he worked quite well. He worked very hard without getting much reward.

"He is not the top goalscorer in the league for nothing. He is a good finisher and given half the chance you expect him to score."

Heath gave a full Football League debut to 20-year-old winger Paul Smith who turned in a promising display.

"He's a bit of a nervous boy but once he settles down he will blossom into a good player," added Heath. "He did well in the game but he's got a lot of work to do."

Alan Harper scored for the Burnley A team in a magnificent 1-0 victory over Manchester United A at Gawthorpe. The B team lost 2-1 at Bolton Wanderers. The Burnley scorer was Terry Murphy.

Third Division strugglers Scunthorpe United have parted company with manager David Moore and appointed former boss Mick Buxton until the end of the season. Buxton was interviewed for the job as Burnley manager last week

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