Burnley boss Steve Cotterill has taken down the "For Sale" sign at Turf Moor and is sure his stars will be staying for the whole season.

The Clarets have been rich pickings for Championship rivals in recent years, angering fans who have watched stars Robbie Blake, Richard Chaplow and Ade Akinbiyi all leave.

And as Cotterill begins to work his magic with summer signings Alan Mahon, Andy Gray and Steve Jones there is a genuine fear that the trio could be snapped up by someone else before the end of this campaign.

But the Burnley boss has issued a clear "hands off" warning to any potential suitors.

He said: "We don't have a lot of money and we have to be shrewd.

"We have to get good value out of the players and we've managed to do that in the last couple of years.

"The trouble is the shrewd buys end up being rich pickings for the other vultures who come along and pick them up when they're doing well for us.

"We don't have to sell anybody at this moment in time so we're looking forward to having a decent squad together for a while hopefully."

Cotterill today admitted the side had suffered in the past through losing key forwards.

And he went as far as to say Burnley last season were "muddled" following the loss of top scorer Akinbiyi to Sheffield United during the transfer window break in January.

But he is now hoping the early-season success of the Gray and Jones partnership up front can continue until the end of May.

He said: "When you sell a Robbie Blake, a Chaplow and then you get an Akinbiyi in, what happens is the forwards you have, you can set the rest of the team off of them.

"The trouble then is if you're selling forwards then the rest of the team doesn't fit the forwards.

"We've had changes. You've got Robbie Blake who's different to Ade Akinbiyi and Andy Gray who's different to Ade.

"It's a problem because the rest of the team can get muddled.

"I think that's happened to our detriment when we've had to sell players but hopefully we don't have to sell anybody.

"We'll just carry on. I'm delighted with the players I've brought in and their contribution and hopefully we can maintain it."