IT may be a bit pompous to place the son of God into a contemporary setting and then turn him into a Manchester City fan, but ITV1's "The Second Coming" was not the first link between the divine and the beautiful game writes Richard Mulligan.

Of course footballers are said to be "worshipped" by their adoring flocks these days, and there is no shortage of players willing to take the old 30 pieces of silver to join the other side.

In Stan Ternent's autobiography "Stan the Man" the Burnley boss reveals he actually takes a sip of holy water before each game the Clarets play. He also once sprinkled some blessed H 2O on the Turf Moor pitch during a bad series of results, which turned Burnley's season around.

Ternent put his own healing hands on Bury not so long ago, as he took the Shakers from the Third Division to the First Division with two successive promotions.

But if his book is anything to go by, it is not divine intervention that Stan needs - it is a careers adviser.

The Burnley boss is the biggest whinger you are ever likely to come across, and his book suggests he has rarely enjoyed a single day's work during his 40 years in football.

He began his playing career with Burnley but that was a drag because the manager didn't like him. Then at Carlisle he was not paid enough, while Sunderland was just one long spell of injuries.

As a coach he found working with Ian Porterfield at Chelsea to be "living hell", his spell at Blackpool was ruined by the board while the players let him down at Bradford.

It seems his only respite during this gloomy life sentence in the game is fighting with players and his inclusion among The Weekly News' list of ten most handsome footballers in Britain. And David Beckham was born...

But, despite a painful foot and a bout of road rage on his first day at Bury, things eventually got altogether better for Stan during his five years at Gigg Lane.

His period at the club is well documented here and supporters will be interested to hear the real story behind his success, his feelings about the Shakers fans, his relationship with Hugh Eaves and eventual departure for Burnley in 1998.

Dour Stan may be, but there are some cracking tales and brilliant one-liners in his book, which was livened up with the help of Daily Sport Editor-in-Chief Tony Livesey.

"Stan the Man: A Hard Life in Football" by Stan Ternent and Tony Livesey is published by John Blake (RRP £16.99).