ALAN Brown, the former Burnley, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday manager, has died at the age of 81.

One of Burnley's most distinguished captains during the old First Division days, he played centre-half in their 1947 FA Cup final defeat by Charlton in 1947 and took over as manager of the Turf Moor club seven years later after hanging up his boots.

He moved on to become boss of Sunderland three years later and in 1964 started a four-year spell in charge of Sheffield Wednesday, taking them to the 1966 FA Cup final where they lost 3-2 to Everton after being two goals up.

Brown, who also worked closely with former England manager Walter Winterbottom as an FA coach, returned to Sunderland for a second spell in 1968 and remained in charge for another four years.

The latter years of his life were spent in retirement in North Devon where his wife died 10 years ago.

Brown's funeral will take place at North Devon crematorium, Barnstaple, next Friday.

SPORTSWEAR giants Adidas are believed to be ready to strike a deal with Burnley.

Talks have taken place between Turf Moor officials and Adidas to supply the Burnley kits next season.

And, if the deal is finalised, then Adidas could be the new name on Burnley's shirt for the start of the 1996-97 season.

The contract with Burnley's current suppliers Mitre expires in the summer and Burnley were unhappy when kit sales for the eye-catching white away shirt were badly hit after Mitre missed a giant pre-Christmas order deadline. Mitre were believed to have promised to deliver 2,000 shirts by mid-November. But only a limited number of shirts materialised at Turf Moor in time for the Christmas rush to leave many fans and Turf Moor officials frustrated.

A club spokesman said at the time: "We were very disappointed that the kit did not arrive in time and we may be looking elsewhere."

Now there is intense speculation that Burnley could strike a deal with Adidas who supply kits to Premiership leaders Newcastle United, Liverpool and Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers.

Meanwhile, midfielder John Borland could miss the remainder of the campaign after he broke a bone in his foot during a training session at Gawthorpe this week.

The youngster was due to see a consultant today but physio Andy Jones said: "He has broken a bone in his foot. If his foot does go in plaster then he could be struggling for several weeks."

Non-season ticket holders have the option of pre-purchasing a set for the clash with Division Two leaders Swindon Town at Turf Moor a week today. Tickets are now on sale.

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