EVERY club has its scapegoat, and right now Burnley have two.

But while some blame Owen Coyle and others point the finger at Brian Laws, each argument misses the point.

Anger is a natural reaction after a result as shocking as Saturday’s 6-1 loss to Manchester City.

There are plenty who suggest the Clarets’ current predicament is all Coyle’s fault, and in many ways it is.

If Burnley look like a fish out of water at the moment, even while playing in a swimming pool on Saturday, it is because they are competing in a division higher than almost anyone thought possible this season. That is Coyle’s fault.

If being second bottom of the Premier League is deeply dissatisfying to many Burnley supporters, it is because expectations were raised to unsustainable levels by a start to the season that saw them lie ninth in November. That, too, is Coyle’s fault.

As hard a day as Saturday was – and spare a thought for the group of Clarets fans who went straight from Turf Moor to support John Ruiz as he was similarly pummelled by David Haye – it is not an entirely uncommon experience for promoted sides who lack the finances to compete at the top level.

Hence Derby 0 Aston Villa 6 in 2008, West Bromwich Albion 0 Liverpool 6 in 2003 and Nottingham Forest 1 Manchester United 8 in 1999.

Also note Hull 0 Wigan 5 early last season, a campaign in which Hull survived.

Burnley, with a miniscule budget and population smaller than all of the names mentioned above, were always going to be vulnerable to such a result from day one.

Laws has been maligned in some quarters for Saturday’s loss, but the level of criticism has perhaps been a little unfair. While results have not been forthcoming since his arrival, he inherited a side that was always going to struggle to survive.

The greater surprise remains that Burnley managed 17 points from their first 13 games.

Coyle left Burnley in the lurch not long afterwards, of course, but to blame him now is akin to blaming Alexander Graham Bell if your telephone gets cut off.

Many Football League clubs assume the Premier League is a bed of roses, the answer to all their problems.

Sometimes it is just the beginning of them, but no-one deserves to be vilified if Burnley go down.

They have given it their best shot, and that was never guaranteed to be enough.