Burnley 1 Sheffield United 0

VICTORIOUS Burnley boss Owen Coyle distanced himself from the Celtic manager’s job after guiding the Clarets back to the top flight of English football for the first time in 33 years.

Burnley were still attempting to clamber into the Premier League by beating Sheffield United in the £60m game at Wembley when news of Gordon Strachan’s departure from Parkhead was confirmed, with Coyle’s name immediately jumping to the head of bookmakers’ lists.

However, while not rejecting the possibility of an approach from the Glasgow giants, Coyle did make it clear he intends to remain in charge at Turf Moor as they eagerly wait to take their place among the elite.

‘‘I didn’t know there was a vacancy at Celtic,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s flattering that people mention your name, but I’m with Burnley.

‘‘I’ll concentrate my job on what I am doing here, and long may that continue.’’ Chairman Barry Kilby questioned why Coyle would want to quit and deny himself the chance to build on his incredible achievement.

‘‘I have nothing but praise for Owen,’’ he said. ‘‘He has worked on one of the smallest budgets in the whole of the Championship and has done a fantastic job.

‘‘He is ambitious and young but he is contracted to Burnley and he relishes the prospect of pitting his wits against the best, managing Burnley in the Premier League.’’ The chance of going headto- head with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez certainly appeals to Coyle, who can’t wait to test himself in the ‘‘best league in the world’’.

‘‘The Premier League is full of the best players in the world, and some of the top managers in Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger and so forth,’’ he said.

Strictly teetotal, Coyle did not feel like cracking open the champagne even when Wade Elliott curled his side into a superb 13th-minute lead.

For all the penalty claims Sheffield United had, the Clarets were the better side and would have won by a bigger margin if Robbie Blake had taken one of the two chances which came his way in the second half.

The Blades last chance disappeared with the dismissal of Jamie Ward and they ended an unhappy afternoon with only nine men as Lee Hendrie was red carded after the final whistle.