Kilby has the club in his blood

BARRY Kilby and I go back a long way.

Probably further than either of us would care to remember. In the dim and distant past, at Clitheroe Grammar School, we would regularly meet up with the rest of the first team squad to discuss tactics.

Remember Leeds Utd in the 1960s? Numbers on shorts and tasselled tie-ups? Yeah, well we even went down that avenue. A little uncool, perhaps?

And when injuries arrived, there was no way we could dip our toes into the January transfer window. Forget it. Subs of 10p a week didn't stretch that far.

Fast forward a few decades and I arrived at the plush offices from where he oversees his business empire.

A photograph of horse and jockey, not surprisingly decked out in claret and blue silks, was proudly displayed on the mantelpiece.

"I've owned a few horses during my time; that ones called, 'Don't Annoy Me'," Barry told me.

"But to be fair, they were more likely to run on a cold Thursday afternoon at Wetherby than at the Cheltenham Festival."

Kilby has always been a Burnley supporter, going along to the matches with his dad Roy and his first recollections were seeing the great side of the 60s - the Adamson-McIlroy Championship side. He was well and truly hooked.

Barry actually played for the club in the late 1960s alongside team-mates who were soon to become household names.

"I was spotted at Clitheroe FC and was asked down to play for the 'A' team with the likes of Mick Docherty, Wilf Wrigley, Alan West and Steve Kindon, who were all in the Youth Cup winning side of 68," he said.

"I soon realised, even though BFC was in my blood, it was never going to happen for me. I knew I wasn't good enough to pursue a professional career and I went on to play for Great Harwood and Padiham in rather more modest surroundings of the Lancashire Combination.

"But in a funny sort of way I kept involved in the game through my business connections."

The chance for Kilby to become more involved arrived when the club made it clear they were looking for new investment. A rights issue was drawn up, costing him £3.5m, and he became chairman in 1998.

"Being chairman is similar to being a fan except that the highs are higher and the lows are definitely lower but you've just got to take it on the chin and do the best you can.

"The beauty of being a fan is that you can get all your ranting and raving over on the Saturday and by Sunday it's forgotten but as chairman it lives with you every single day.

"Lots of fans think I come along to the Turf every day but the reality is, I do have another life. I have my businesses to run and the only reason I'm able to do both in relative harmony is that I have some excellent staff who take on specific responsibilities.

Kilby added: "I suspect though that, like any football club, the chairman-manager relationship is all important.

"Absolutely vital. It's a two way thing, of course, the chairman must support the manager and the manager must trust the chairman. I've been lucky because in six years I've only had Stan and Steve.

"We don't agree about everything; managers want to spend money to improve the side and sign better players but that's not always possible because of the financial obligations of the club. Even though my relationship with Steve is very much in its infancy I'm confident that we can work well together."

In his early working days, Barry was travelling around the country selling lottery systems and tickets. He'd load his car on a Monday, travel to Scotland for meetings with Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen Football clubs to return on Friday night. The following week he'd be over on the eastern side popping into Ipswich, Norwich and Cambridge.

"It was a tough schedule but I was gaining experience and knowledge which would be crucial when I decided to set up in business on my own.

"I remember the Crystal Palace game in 1982 which we had to win to stay up. At the time I was building up my company and had just negotiated a big order from the Daily Mirror to supply bingo tickets, so I was feeling pretty good and decided to go to Selhurst Park.

"But it didn't quite work out the way I'd hoped it would. I was stuck at the back of the stand, among 52,000 people, watching us lose 2-0. Palace were promoted and we went down.

"Following the club has been a real rollercoaster ride over the years but the thing that motivates us all, is the dream of once more seeing Burnley play in the top division - the Premiership.

"The collapse of the TV deal really set us back financially. To lose a major creditor to the tune of around £4m was a massive blow.

"Our wage bill for instance is £3.2m a year which is about 17th in this league and we've had to reduce it because at the £5m mark, it was totally unsustainable.

"Steve has already shown, even with a small, well organised squad, what he is capable of achieving and if another 2,000 paying supporters would come through the turnstiles each game it would make a tremendous difference. I would love to give him an extra half a million to strengthen the team.

"The results have been good and we'd like to think after the busy Christmas schedule, a play-off position is within our grasp."