FORMER Burnley chief executive Paul Fletcher believes Brendan Flood would be the best candidate to succeed Barry Kilby as club chairman.

Kilby is set to stand down in May, ending a 13-and-a-half year spell in the role, after announcing he is battling cancer.

The 63-year-old believes his replacement will come from the remaining four members on the board of directors – either operational director Flood, London-based John Banaszkiewicz and Mike Garlick, or the club’s longest serving director, Clive Holt.

And Fletcher feels Flood is the ideal choice.

“To me the only candidate that makes sense is Brendan Flood,” said the former Clarets striker, who returned to Turf Moor in January 2008 as development director, becoming chief executive seven months later.

“He’s a Rawtenstall lad, his business is based in Manchester and he is at the club on a regular basis. He is at the club two days a week anyway, he is hands-on in dealing with the playing staff, he is involved with managerial appointments and works closely with the senior management team.

“He is hands-on at the club and my view is he should be welcomed into this role.”

He added: “He’s a chip off the old block because, like Barry, Brendan used to go to the games with his dad as a child. They had a similar introduction to Burnley Football Club, and the best thing about that is they make decisions with their heart rather than their head.

“Barry has said he will stay on the board and have a helping hand, so they could have a really good match there.”

The duo have worked closely together since Flood joined the board in 2007 and became the club’s major investor.

Fletcher credits the businessman, who was raised in Rossendale, with engineering promotion to the Premier League in 2009.

“The club does need people to steady the ship, like Barry, but it also needs visionaries like Brendan, people who are prepared to take a risk on a Chris Eagles, which is a good thing to do if you can afford to do it,” he said.

“If we hadn’t taken those risks we might not have got to the Premier League.

“Where Barry was the safe pair of hands, my view is that Brendan was the driving force behind us winning promotion into the Premier League, not only for bringing the players in but bringing the cash in as well.

“He was a major investor at that time.

“I think he is a natural to take over.

“I don’t know quite whether he would accept the role, but out of the board he is the only logical one for me. And I think the fans would see him as one of theirs.”

Some fans remain critical of Flood and the rest of the Burnley board, however for not investing more heavily into the playing staff during their top flight season.

But Fletcher defended their cautious approach.

“It would have been quite easy for the directors, once Owen Coyle left halfway through the Premier League season, to go out and borrow £25 million and still miss out on staying up by one point,” he said.

“If Owen had stayed we probably would have stayed up.

“But if you borrow £25m one year and stay up, you’ve got to borrow £25m the next year and so on.

“Then you find you’re going into administration and you can’t afford to pay the bills.

“Financially the club got it right. We didn’t risk the crown jewels.”