Lancashire

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Getty Images

Football Association of Wales (FAW) bosses are "very confident" Craig Bellamy will remain head coach of the men's national team despite interest from Burnley.

Bellamy is among the candidates for the managerial vacancy at Turf Moor after Scott Parker left by mutual consent following the Clarets' relegation from the Premier League.

Although the Clarets have not made an official approach to the FAW, it is believed they have informally sounded Bellamy out about the possibility of taking over.

But following lengthy discussions with the ex-Wales captain, senior sources at the FAW have told BBC Sport Wales they are convinced he will stay until his contract expires in 2028.

One of the main reasons is Bellamy's desire to lead his country at Euro 2028, which Wales will co-host alongside England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

While Bellamy relishes his job, the former Liverpool and Manchester City forward has made no secret of the fact that he wants to manage at the highest level of club football.

The FAW is aware of interest in him from clubs other than Burnley but has some security in the form of a release clause which would require any potential suitor to pay at least £700,000 to buy Bellamy out of his contract.

Natalie Bromley
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It took until the 36th game of the season, and the sacking of constraint-inducing manager Scott Parker, for Burnley to finally join the Premier League campaign.

Sunday's draw at home to Aston Villa was well-deserved and actually enjoyable to watch. Under the temporary stewardship of caretaker manager Mike Jackson, the team looked more relaxed, carefree and ambitious in their attack.

Notable performances from Zian Flemming again, plus Hannibal Mejbri and Axel Tuanzebe, set the tone for a good afternoon at Turf Moor.

It is a shame Burnley have come to the Premier League party too late with too little, though.

Flemming has had a good season, despite many questioning whether he would be able to make the step up to elite-level football. He has now become the first player to score more than 10 Premier League goals in a season for Burnley since Chris Wood last did it in 2021.

I wonder why that is? Perhaps because of a lack of options for Premier League strikers within budget? Or perhaps because of a lack of creativity across the team generally, coupled with a coach who was more inclined to play defensively?

Without wanting to state the obvious, some serious investment in strikers is now needed at Burnley - both for the Championship and beyond.

Either way, we seem destined to lose Flemming next season, which is a real shame as we have so few players who we can consider 'Burnley players' and who we can build some rapport with as fans.

The stadium was sparse in terms of attendance on Sunday and the mood around the town is flat.

The relationship between Burnley and its community has survived worse than this, and for longer than we have been alive, so it will thrive again - especially if we can repeat the performance we saw against Villa.

Find more from Natalie Bromley at No Nay Never podcast, external

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Burnley and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Burnley fans

Dave: If we had played with that kind of spirit and intensity for the last six months we would not be going down. Player against player, virtually EVERY team has been so much better than us, but if you believe and play with that kind of passion, it makes all the difference.

Cunla: A much better performance. We tried to get on the front foot and could easily have won.

Peter: It was definitely the best 90 minutes of the season. Had we played like that more often we would still be in the Premier League for next season. Give Mike Jackson the job now and try and keep most of the squad together but get rid of the deadwood like Lyle Foster!!

John: I really enjoyed this game. First time in a while. I've remembered why I buy a season ticket.

Aston Villa fans

Ian: Players walking around in the first half and what appeared to be a lack of desire isn't good enough. No disrespect to Burnley, who deserved the draw, but Villa were playing a relegated side and could have cemented their Champions League place. It simply isn't good enough. There's no guarantee of winning the Europa League final and they can't rely on teams below them losing. Villa need to adopt a top four or five mentality and achieve things for the fans and the club.

Mark: Yet again a total lack of intensity and continually giving away the ball in our own half, it will cost us if we fail to get Champions League.

Prit: Another complacent performance by Villa against another team in the bottom three. It's important to qualify for European competitions through the league so it is vital Villa turn up for the last two matches. Another tip, try passing the ball to another Aston Villa player.

Claire: Villa never do it the easy way, so we have another tense, nail-biting finish to the season. It's hard to believe the same team could be so different just three days apart. We need to beat Liverpool to be safe.

Pundits Shay Given and Danny Murphy join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• West Ham 0-1 Arsenal

• Burnley 2-2 Aston Villa

• Nottingham Forest 1-1 Newcastle

• Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton

Burnley interim manager Michael Jackson, speaking to BBC MOTD: "It was a good performance. If you look at today's group - we spoke about having belief - and they showed character."

On goalscorer Zian Flemming: "He's been incredible this year. He makes the maximum out of everything he gets each day and he's on double figures now in the Premier League. But I know he'd happily swap that for us staying in the Premier League."

On whether they are building for next season in the Championship: "It's about that now. It's about building on the foundations we have - we've had to do that before. I'm pleased for the group today that they have something to be proud of."

Clarets forward Zian Flemming speaking to Match of the Day: "A good point for us. Villa are fourth or fifth in the league and have been impressive this season, so for us to be 19th and getting a point against them - that's good."

On giving the fans something to smile about: "We've lost lots of games this season, especially at home. We haven't given the fans the results they wanted to see.

"We've played many games similar to this but have just lacked that final bit to get a result, never through a lack of effort or quality. However frustrating it is for the fans, we wished we could give them something to cheer for."

Did you know?

• Zian Flemming is the first Burnley player to score 10+ goals in a Premier League campaign since Chris Wood in 2020-21 (12).

• In the eighth minute, Jaidon Anthony's opener was the earliest Burnley have scored in a Premier League match this season, and earliest overall since December 2023 against Sheffield United.

Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Burnley already know they will be in the Championship next season, with Mike Jackson now in caretaker charge after the exit of Scott Parker.

They had lost their past five games - and only won once since October.

So getting a point, including fighting back, against the team fifth in the table gave their fans something to cheer about.

They fully matched Villa and had 15 shots, six on target.

And they will have felt they deserved their opener, their earliest league goal this season, when Anthony took advantage of some debatable Martinez goalkeeping to net in the eighth minute. Flemming should have doubled their lead following a good cross from Loum Tchaouna.

Young German keeper Weiss, handed a Premier League debut with Martin Dubravka on the bench, pulled off some good saves.

And Jackson's side showed spirit to come back after going 2-1 behind with Ugochukwu passing to Hannibal Mejbri, who flicked the ball on for Flemming to net his 10th league goal of the season.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Burnley's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies