The Longside Reference

Burnley Manager from June 1998 till June 2004

Francis Stanley Ternent, born in Gateshead on the 16^th June 1946, he spent 6 years at Turf Moor during the 1960s,after joining the club in 1962 as an apprentice, being spotted by scouting legend Jack Hixon .Stan would return to the club 30 years later, in 1998 to become manager after a successful spell at local rivals Bury.

Stan’s Playing career began at turf moor but after 6 years he moved north to Carlisle United before injury ended his playing career early.

He joined his boyhood heroes Sunderland as youth coach under Bob Stokoe, he was there when the Roker Park club reached the 1^st Division in 1976, Stan made his transition to manager in August 1979 when Blackpool came calling, he culled the squad and started a rebuilding that saw Claret legend Peter Noble join him, he also set a club record at the Tangerines when he signed Jack Ashurst from Sunderland for £116k.

He was sacked on February 1^st 1980.

It was nine years before Stan was a manager in his own right again, he became coach at both Leeds United and Bradford City.

Hull City was Stan’s next port of call, when he became manager in 1989, he was yet again sacked, in January 1991 Stan Ternent lost his job and Hull became relegated to the 3^rd division. Former playing colleague Ian Porterfield offered Stan a job at Chelsea as Coach, and when Ian was sacked he was kept on under David Webb, Webb also became a managerial casualty and Ternent was left unemployed.

Mike Walsh Bury manager hired Stan Ternent in 1995, and following Walsh’s resignation in October 1995 Stan became manager again. A momentous rise in Bury fortunes were to follow as Stan led them to 3^rd in division three and promotion ,the following season took them to the Division Two Championship, taking Bury to the second tier of English football. He managed the unmanageable the season after by keeping little Bury in the now named Championship.

In 1998 he went back to where it all started by becoming Burnley manager, taking over from former England International Chris Waddle.

June 1998 the rise of a legend, and on the 22^nd of August Stan Ternent made an address to the media, a message that no one was expected, Stan sacked 4 players live on radio he ranted “Its not personal, its business, Steve Blatherwick, Lee Howey, Mark Winstanley and to a lesser degree Michael Williams, because he will never win the crowd over, will not play for Burnley Football Club again.” He continued “They are all on the transfer list – they can go on a free transfer”

That season Stan used 38 players in league fixtures, utilizing the youth and reserve teams as well as the loan market, with the permanent signings in the shape of Gordon Armstrong, Brian Reid, Peter Swan Graham Branch and Steve Davis for his second spell at the club. Burnley finished 15^th, but his management skills were beginning to take shape as Burnley were unbeaten it their last 11games of the season, winning 5 of those games.

 The end of the 1998/99 season saw Stan Ternent wield the axe as 12 players were released including Brian Reid who was signed by Stan earlier in the season.

1999/00 was a more settled affair as Stan had a settled side Dean West, Michel Thomas and Alan Lee were signed to bolster the depleted squad, the audacious bid to bring England legend Ian Wright to Turf Moor also paid off with Wrights goals and bums on seats, Stan Ternent had woken this slumbering giant.

Promotion was guaranteed at Scunthorpe as Brian Flynn’s Wrexham upset all the odds and beat promotion favourites Gillingham, and Stan Ternent took his Clarets side up.

Stan and his assistant Sam Ellis had done what Jimmy Mullen had done 6 years earlier and taken Burnley to the second tier of English football. The question now was “can he keep us there?”

The answer was as loud as they come, yes, and how!

Ian Wright now retired; Burnley broke its transfer record when Stan sanctioned the signing of Ian Moore from Stockport County, for a cool 1 million, and signed Manchester City’s Welsh International Gareth Taylor.

The usual Christmas slump where Burnley lost 5 on the bounce including derby defeats to Preston, Bolton and Blackburn, but the start of 2001, Burnley went on a run that almost took them to the Promised Land and the premiership. 10 wins 4 draws and just 8 defeats took the clarets to 7^th place just 2 points off the play-offs.

Stan was weaving his magic, but the spell just didn’t last quite long enough.