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Cotterill Looking for Reinforcements

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Burnley manager Steve Cotterill has expressed the need for reinforcements, after injury and illness left the squad down to the last 16 last night.

Keeper Danny Coyne was forced to be named on the bench for the first time in a year, as Wayne Thomas and John McGreal were ruled out with injury, and several players missed the game with illness.

The defensive situation was made further difficult with the sending off of Stephen Foster, which leaves the Clarets with two available centre backs going into what looks to be a difficult November.

Cotterill said: ‘Tonight, we were down to our last 16. We had nobody else.

‘Put it this way, we got to almost desperate measures tonight with 16 bodies, but I don’t know about wating to see if we are up there at Christmas before we get some reinforcements in, because otherwise we won’t have any substitutes!’

He continued: ‘I have said that for a while I am sick and tired of saying we have the smallest squad – and if we want to stay there or there abouts we need bodies. The boys have given their absolute all again and they are first class, but sometimes …’

Cotterill was, however, full of praise for his players’ efforts at Kenilworth Road, where two first half goals from Andy Gray earned Burnley their fourth away victory of the campaign.

He said: ‘We are delighted because this was a tough game. We scored a couple of excellent goals and had a clean sheet to boot and coupled with Stephen Foster’s sending off, we are absolutely delighted.’

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