Burnley FC have a siege mentality

But he feels some of the catcalls have gone too far, and have galvanised his staff and players into a siege mentality.

It’s Burnley against the world, and Laws hopes a sense of togetherness will help earn a first away win of the season at Cardiff tomorrow.

seeing a 2-0 lead evaporate into a 3-2 defeat at home to Leeds last Saturday provoked harsh words from the press and sections of the support, but Laws said: “I certainly think over this last week there is that siege mentality, we’re very together and it’s important that nobody distracts that.

“Whoever tries to break that down, it will probably reinforce it even more.

“I’ve had my issues this week with certain press, because I felt certain things were uncalled for.

“We’re supposed to be a community, a family club, a together club, everybody.

“And the players felt it was unjust as well.”

Laws is thick-skinned enough for it not to deflect him from his goal of trying to steer the club back to the Premier League: “It’s not chipping away, but players will read things, you can’t get away from it, it’s on the internet, it’s everywhere.

“They understand there will be criticism, but I don’t mind that if it’s justifiable and for the right reasons.

“There’s not a ‘them and us’ scenario at this football club, we’re all together.”

He understands why pressure is mounting though, after two wins in nine games have seen his side drift out to ninth in the table.

Asked if he was feeling the pressure, he said: “I think even more so at this football club, I know that. I’m not stupid and I’m professional enough, I’ve been in the game long enough to know that. Every football club is a results based business. We are open to public scrutiny and we’re open to the public eye and it’s all about opinions. That’s the industry that we’re working in, it’s not surprising, anything can happen in football. It doesn’t matter if you think you’re doing a terrific job because it can all change. At the end of the day we just get on with it until somebody tells you something different.”

And he added: “We care very much whether we’re winning, we all want to win, we all want to do well for the football clubs that we’re working for because they’re good people that you’re working for; a good set of players and management and board who just want the best for the football team and the manager wants the same.

“It’s a really fickle industry at times, it can be a horrible one and it can be a very lonely one but I’ve been in it long enough to know that there’s going to be highs and lows and you’ve got to stay level-headed about it and grow some thick skin. It can be cruel at times.”

With that in mind, he hailed his staff: “You are exposed to the elements for sure and you have to have good people around you and I have got good people around me.

“I’ve worked with them for such a long time that they know when I’m up, when I’m down and it’s important that you have those kind of people around you.

“It can be very, very lonely on that touchline at times. The industry is riddled with issues and problems and decision making and it’ll never change so it’s nothing new to us.

“Every manager will tell you that at some stage things will change, it’s part and parcel of the industry.

“There’s no real longevity for anybody. We like to think we’re here for the next 20 years, - I don’t think the fans would like me here for 20 years, I think they’ve been fed up with me already!

“But we’re very aware that we want to do well this season. The fact that we’ve come down last year there’s a onus about us at the moment that any salt that seems to drop on the wound, it’s very bitter. We have to calm things down and make sure we’re doing the right things. It’ll work out.”

Three points at Cardiff tomorrow would make a massive difference, however, to the mood around the club: “Looking at the next few games in particular, over the Christmas period, we’ve got to make sure that we do everything right and we stay right in the thick of things.

“After the New Year that’s when it really pans out so it’s important that we’re right in there.

“We know that the games that are coming are coming very, very quickly and we’ve got a great opportunity to get back in to things.

“We’ll concentrate on this little chunk of games then hopefully at the end of it we’re right back where we should be.

“It’s important that we keep sight of everybody and make sure that if we do have a disappointment we bounce back with a positive.”