SAM Allardyce believes Brian Laws was charged with an even tougher task than his own Premier League great escape mission, but insists derby defeat won’t seal Burnley’s top flight fate.

The Burnley manager was appointed at Turf Moor in January, with the Clarets already fighting a relegation battle, and Allardyce admits he knows how he feels having battled with a similar scenario upon his Ewood arrival last campaign.

Allardyce succeeded Paul Ince as manager in December 2008 with Rovers five points adrift of safety but managed to steer them away from the drop.

Laws has faced a similar scrap since taking over from Owen Coyle in January but, ahead of tomorrow’s Turf Moor derby, Allardyce insists his opposite number has had it even tougher.

He said: “It is a little difficult when you don’t know your players as well as you would like because you have just walked into the job.

"You have to find out your players mentality and ability as quickly as you can.

“In my time here last season in the short term, I passed the responsibility over to those players who were vastly experienced in the Premier League and I don’t think Brian has that because his players aren’t experienced in the Premier League.

“Whereas for me, last year I turned to the players who have been here all those years and said ‘just perform to your best you know you can play at and that will get us results - there is no doubt about that’.

"They took that responsibility and they did an unbelievable job.

“I have a lot of sympathy for Brian Laws. He deserves his chance to manage in the Premier League and it is tough going with the team already in decline. It is tough picking them up.

“Their future will not be sealed if they lose though. They can win four games out of the last six and maybe 35 points will be enough this season. They won’t be dead and buried if they don’t get a win on Sunday.”

Allardyce and Laws were team mates at Huddersfield in 1984/85, with the Rovers boss insisting his Clarets’ rival has already proved himself as a player and manager.

Laws is currently up against it, with Burnley effectively three points adrift of safety, with Allardyce unable to help his old pal out.

“The only favours I can do Brian is when we play Wolves. I can’t be doing him many other favours,” he said. “The Huddersfield days were a short sharp year for me where, if Mick Buxton had a bit more finance, we would have got promoted to the First Division.

“I think playing with Brian I realised what an outstandingly good and fit player he was. I had no doubt he would go on and achieve more than Huddersfield - which he did.

“The focus on the Premier League lies in every coach in the world wanting to come here, perhaps managers like Brian get over looked more than they used to. But he has got his chance now, it is difficult for him but he has the experience and knows what it is all about.

“If his team continue to play like they did at Wigan away they have a chance, hopefully they don’t on Sunday, they are making chances and they just need to find someone to find the back of the net.

“Then they could get themselves out of that very difficult position. Many teams at this stage of the season find that something extra. I did at Bolton, Fulham did it when they were 20 minutes away from being relegated and then won four on the trot and look where he is at now.

“It can be done. Being a local derby they want it to start against us but we will be doing everything to make sure it doesn’t.”