SEVEN days is a long time in sport, writes DARREN BENTLEY.

One week ago, Britain's athletes were celebrating glory in Greece and Burnley fans were buoyant following an uplifting start to life under new manager Steve Cotterill.

The mood was somewhat darker in East Lancashire following the Clarets 2-1 home defeat to Gillingham, which reignited terrace talk of too many games for too few players.

But Burnley chairman Barry Kilby is happy to take time out from the idle chitter chatter, insisting the season is more of a marathon than a sprint.

However, he is equally confident that come the end of the race, the Clarets will be feeling more Kelly Holmes than Paula Radcliffe!

"Gillingham was a disappointment, but we can't get too hung up on a few defeats at the moment because it's a long season," he insisted.

"There is a real optimism at this club now. We are maybe two points lighter than we should have been, and, had we got those two points, things would have looked extremely healthy.

"But I still think we look in good shape. The managerial transition has been done well, we are handling all our resources as well as we can and there is a good atmosphere around the club, so it's been a good time to have a break and take stock after a decent start."

Kilby has shown a real head for figures in the business world, making a fortune that has allowed him to indulge his passion for Burnley Football Club.

But even passionate and upbeat chairmen need a defence mechanism against the odd setback - and Kilby relies on a tried and tested formula that stops him reaching for the noose every time his beloved team suffer an unexpected defeat.

"I tend to look at the season in six game groupings," he revealed. "If you can get 12 points out of the six games and carry that through a season you get promotion.

"I think the average for getting into the play offs is around 1.7, and it's really interesting how it works out year in and year out.

"I just find it is a way of not fretting about every single game, or where X and Y are in relation to you in the table.

"If you are hitting the averages, you will inevitably be okay."

It's interesting to note that, as we chat in his office, the relaxed chairman does not mention the dreaded 'R' word once.

It seems relegation does not even get a mention in Kilby's much-mooted "three-year plan".

However, he accepts that through the evenness of competition this season, Burnley will probably have to improve on last season's total of 53 points.

He added: "I do think this year it looks as though nobody is going to run away with it (the league) and maybe the targets will differ slightly.

"The evenness of competition means that it may take less to get into the play-offs, but equally more to steer clear of relegation.

"However, we have enough quality in the camp to make sure that doesn't even enter our thoughts."

He added: "The fans can really play their part too. If only we could get the same number of walk-ups every week - 5,000 - as we had on the opening day against Sheffield United, that would give us around £500,000 extra to spend this season.

"But I can't count on that and, until that happens, we have to trade within our means. We still have some players on reasonably big wages, so it's not rocket science."