He may be 42, but Owen Coyle is still turning out for the Reserves at Burnley!

And he's proved more than fit to lead the First Team after being named Coca-Cola Championship Manager of the Month for September.

The Clarets went unbeaten for the whole month. They picked up four wins in five games in the division including derby wins over Blackpool and Preston - as well as dumping Fulham out of the Carling Cup.

Ex-Bolton and Republic of Ireland striker Coyle has transformed Burnley since taking over in November last year.

He said: "When the Reserve games are on I go in now and again to play and to take the opportunity of speaking to younger players like Alex MacDonald and Jay Rodriguez.

"I think I can have more of an effect on the players by being on the pitch rather than in the stand or at the half-time team talk.

"I can say to them 'Listen that was the wrong run' at the time and hopefully that will help their development.

"If I can play a part in the Reserves then I will. It's also a chance to stay fit for the Masters!"

Burnley's fine run is all the more impressive considering their grim start to the campaign.

After all the optimism of pre-season they were two goals down inside three minutes at Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day.

And they went on to lose their first two league games 4-1 and 3-0 to the Owls and Ipswich respectively.

Coyle added: "There's no getting away from how disappointed we were.

"We'd had a terrific pre-season, worked our socks off, and those results took the wind from our sails.

"It would have been very easy to go into freefall but we retained our belief.

"We have good players, and new players coming in. The work ethic was there and we believed we could turn the corner.

"I will have been here a year in November so I'm absolutely delighted to receive this award.

"It's a credit to everyone at the club. They've made it easy for me to settle in."

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