Burnley fan applies for vacant Blackburn job

Burnley season ticket holder James (28), who lives in the shadow of Turf Moor, sent a spoof job application for the Ewood Park hotseat following the sacking of their third manager this season Michael Appleton.

His CV included his previous experience – managing the Princess Royal pub team in the Warburton’s Sunday League Burnley Division Two. James also favours the “Christmas Tree” formation adopted by England manager Terry Venables in Euro 96.

Not expecting any response, the former Barden High School pupil went back to his day job at Daisy Communications only to find he had been shortlisted by bookmakers Betvictor.

“Someone created a Facebook group calling for me to be appointed. Betvictor obviously spotted it and it snowballed from there.”

James even found himself trending on Twitter under the hashtag #MaccaForRovers which saw his odds slashed from 500-1 to 100-1.

“Apparently 40% of all bets placed have been on me. I’m guessing it’s mainly my friends and fellow Burnley fans!”

So what targets would James set for his under-pressure squad?

“I have to say my dream is to manage Blackburn in a great East Lancashire derby...against Accrington Stanley. I would also love to achieve unprecedented back-to-back relegations at Ewood Park.”

It has not all been plain sailing for James though. He suffered relegation with German side VFL Osnabruck on computer game Football Manager.

• The Burnley Express has launched a FREE football app which is now available to download on iPhone and Android devices.