Burnley boss Steve Cotterill admits he won't be pressurised into a captaincy decision over suspended Wayne Thomas.

Skipper Thomas begins a four-match ban tomorrow, as the Clarets make the long journey to Norwich, after being sent off for violent conduct against Southampton last Saturday.

Following defeat to the Saints, Burnley boss Cotterill slammed Thomas' actions as "unthinkable stupidity" and revealed he would consider stripping the captaincy from the 27-year-old defender.

While he continues to ponder the issue, Cotterill said outside influences and those who "don't know the full story" will not affect the outcome.

"I'm still sleeping on it," said Cotterill. "I might not make a decision, I might not have to make a decision. We'll just wait and see.

"One thing I don't do is make decisions when everybody is clamouring for it, because sometimes when everybody clamours for it, they don't know everything.

"Sometimes they judge and they write, but they don't know the full story. I happen to hold those cards and I don't need to make a decision right now.

"I'm making a decision on who is going to be captain this week, but you never know.

"We've got four games where Wayne Thomas is not playing and we might have four captains, although not at the same time!"

Cotterill insists Thomas has the opportunity to put things right after he completes his ban.

The defender's dismissal was his fourth in 23 Burnley appearances since arriving at Turf Moor from Stoke last summer.

Asked if he will learn from his latest sending off, Cotterill added: "I don't know the answer to that. We might have thought that after the first time.

"He's been sent off at Ipswich, getting involved in an incident which probably had nothing to do with him.

"He got sent off for a so-called elbow against (Grzegorz) Rasiak, and it wasn't because we have that on tape.

"Maybe he was a bit unfortunate with the one where the lad has cut across him against Hartlepool.

"Last Saturday, he was guilty of that one without a shadow of a doubt.

"But one thing you can't do is castigate people for it. I'm not just talking about Wayne Thomas, I'm talking about people in life.

"Everybody makes mistakes. But what they have is an opportunity in life to put it right. That's up to Wayne now, there's nothing more I can do."