The Longside Reference

Burnley Manager from March 1996 till June 1997

(Burnleys first ever Player Manager)

If your good enough your big enough, might not be a well known quote, but for Adrian Heath it was very apt, because at 5"6 his diminutive player had quality in abundance.

Heath started out with his home town club, Stoke City in the Potteries making his debut in 1979, he spent three years with Stoke before Howard Kendall came in with a £700.000 bid, and Heath was on his way to Goodison Park and the Evertonian revolution. Heath spent 6 years on Merseyside making over 200 appearances scoring over 70 goals.

The Everton side which won the Championship, the Cup winners cup the FA Cup in the Eighties had everything.  Southall, possibly the best keeper in the world at the time, Kevin Sheedy who's left foot was just immense, Grahame Sharp, Andy Gray, Kevin Ratcliffe and of course former Claret Trevor Steven.

Heath left Everton in 1988, RCD Espanyol was his destination, but it wasn't a success 24 appearances and just the one goal, he returned after one solitary season.  Next stop Aston Villa, but that was a disaster for Inchy, six moths a Villain before Manchester City offered him a way out, two and a half years later and with Heath back to his best all be it at the twilight of his career.

Jimmy Mullen pulled a rabbit out of the hat when in 1992, he talked 'Inchy' into dropping down leagues and signing for Burnley. Heath only missed 3 league games in his first season as a Claret, he scored 20 league goals playing off Michael Conroy whose 7 league goals seemed poor by comparison.  Heath had become in just one season a fans favourite, 20 League goals on a debut season will do that.

Burnley under Mullen had a fantastic run in the FA Cup that year, progressing to the third round where Sheffield United were waiting, Eight thousand or so Clarets turned out that day in a crowd of 23,041, and with a team that was playing some fantastic football, we all though that this was gonna be our day, enter Adrian Littlejohn, with Burnley at 2-0 and Heath looking a real match winner for Burnley after netting Burnley's two goals that  afternoon. Littlejohn dragged down Heath on the halfway line while both players were tussling for the loose ball, Both players saw red! Burnley without our influential front man conceded two goals in the last ten minutes, to rub salt into the wound the match-day programme that day had Colin Hendry on the cover all decked out in the Blue and White of Rovers, ah the pain. The replay at Turf Moor saw Burnley defeated 2-4 with Heath grabbing the first goal.

Promotion followed, Heath was joined in attack by John Francis, David Eyres, "Rooster" Russell and Tony Philliskirk, Heath managed to play 41 league games but with a short fall in return with just the 9 goals, Eyres took the plaudits this season with 19 goals, but how many went down to assists from Inchy? Burnley played Stockport County at Wembley after two goal John Francis and a goal form Warren Joyce put pay to Plymouth in the Play-Off Semi-Final. Heath played in all the games, but it was Eyres again with unlikely hero Garry Parkinson who scored the goals that took Burnley back up.

Heath only played 21(6) League games in Burnley's relegation season in 1994/95 he failed to get on the scoresheet suffering under Mullen's rotation policy.

Mullen would be ousted by the Clarets faithful during the 1995/96 season a 'Backs to the Board' protest in February when Heath had already wearing the red and white of Sheffield United as the Blades manager Howard Kendall took over at Bramall lane. Heath started the season making 4 starts, but Burnley had a new hot-shot in town Kurt Nogan, who was quite a sensation emulating Heath and scoring 20 League goals in his first full season. Heath's  words when he returned to left Turf Moor in March 1996 after just three months as assistant in Sheffield were " In the immediate future, I want to help Burnley climb the table first , but the long term aim is to reach the Premiership inside five years"..... Five years!! Heath bolted after one !

The record books will state that Adrian Heath was Burnley first ever Player-manager, in the final part of 1995/96 Heath started 1, and came off the bench twice, playing in a deeper role, more attacking midfielder, than the quick, industrious, tricky little forward we were used too.

A late cameo against Watford at Vicarage Road was to be Heath's last, but he was taking to management give well, his Burnley side had progressed form the shambles a year previous, with Burnley flirting all season with the play-offs. Heath's team had more a settled look, and with John Ward as his number two, things were looking good. Too good!

Nogan, Cooke and new signing Paul Barnes all in double figures in the league scoring charts, Barnes hitting 24. Heath also raided Glentoran for a winger who's career never took off at Crystal palace, his name was Glenn Little. Burnley finished 9th that season, five points outside the play-offs, and scoring an incredible 71 League goals nine more than Stan Tenant's Champions Bury.

But as good as it looked with Heath at the helm, he disgusted many fans, when he left a managers position at Burnley to become a number two to Howard Kendall at Everton!

Its true your team always have pulling power when a position is offered, like with Celtic and Owen Coyle after Burnley won promotion to the premiership, or like Robbie Keane leaving Spurs for his doomed spell with his boyhood heroes Liverpool. But to leave a managers job to become a glorified coach was a little hard to stomach !

Heath returned to Turf Moor in 2007 for Graham Branch's testimonial match, and to be fair he wasn't given a bad reception, maybe the people who made Branch a cult hero, didn't know thier Claret history, or they were happy for water to flow under the bridge? who knows. But in my mind Heath left us, after speeches of five years plans, after he gave us fans a new belief, this belief was quashed in one day in June when he turned tail and followed his mate.

After Burnley, Heath and Kendall had a average spell as Everton's dream team, Heath eventually leaving after just two seasons, moving back to Sheffield United, where he lasted just five months, he had two cracks at Coventry City where in 2005 and 2007 he was put in caretaker charge, and in between all these jobs, he found time to coach at Peter Reid's Sunderland.

Heath has teamed up with a former Claret 'Cult  Hero' (yes that is spelt right) Gifton Noel Williams at Austin Aztec's in America, where he returned to management.

Final words on Heath the fantastic player, and manager who should have been a legend.