BRIAN Laws believes the shock of Owen Coyle’s departure will fuel Burnley’s fight for Premier League survival.

The Clarets were rocked when Coyle announced he wanted to join rivals Bolton Wanderers eight months after securing promotion via the play-offs.

His sudden exit suggested the Scot felt he had a better chance of avoiding relegation with the Trotters than if he stayed at Turf Moor.

But Laws’ appointment has heralded a new start, and a new hunger to prove their doubters wrong.

“It is like the mood when I left Scunthorpe to go to Sheffield Wednesday, they were doing really well, on a high, and people were FROM BACK PAGE disappointed that I left, but it galvanised them, and you could sense they weren’t going to let it go,” said the new Burnley boss.

“They were so determined to finish the job, they finished it. And they’ve gone on to do as well if not better. I see that being mirrored by Burnley.

“The players will be disappointed that Owen's gone, along with the supporters, but they'll move on and they’ll embrace the situation now.

“I know Owen wants this club to do well, there’s no question. He’s choosing a different path now though, and we’ve got to move on.

“You can’t dwell on the past, and the fans and players have to go along with that and give everything possible to achieve success, and carry on the good work.

“I admired the players last year, they were sensational, they played so many games and to have a squad that played on average of 30 games each – they used the least number of players, and that shows continuity and consistency was the key.

“That's what we've got to try and strive for.”

Laws’ immediate aim is to end Burnley’s winless away run, although he accepts the difficulty in his first assignment at Old Trafford tomorrow.

However, he is determined not to detract from their enviable home record.

“I hope we can maintain the form we’ve shown, particularly at home, because that could be the winning formula for us staying in the Premier League,” said Laws, who has never lost as a manager in six previous visits to Turf Moor.

“I've got a great record here, and when I came back here it always gave me a bit of an edge.

“I’ve had good success here, and I hope to continue that.

“We know it’s going to be tight, we know it’s not going to be easy, but if you win your home games and pick up a few points away, you’ve got the formula.

“We’ve also got to try and take a leaf out of Stoke’s book, not talking about the way they play, but they had a fantastic home record last season and a shocking away record, but it was enough to survive.

“Once they established themselves in the division, they started to pick up more points away from home, so we can look at that and say ‘can we do a Stoke’?”

He added: “I want to play good football, and that’s important, the players want to keep playing, I can see that, and so do the supporters and the board.

“They want a manager to come in and embrace what’s been happening here.

“There are excellent footballers who have adjusted well in the Premier League, they’ve relished every minute.

“I’ve spoken to them and Graham Alexander was disappointed because he feels we should have more points.

“They know there’s room for improvement, and that’s what we'll work on.”