Burley stated: "Kenwyne Jones spoke to me on Tuesday and said he did not wish to play against Stoke. He confirmed this to me again this morning and I am very disappointed by that."
Burley is not the only one with fans incensed by another incident of player power. Handing in a transfer request is his right, but refusing to play is petulance in the extreme.
Jones has been unsettled by interest from Derby and Sunderland and clearly wants his big Premier League payday as so many before him.
Given that this announcement would potentially reduce his transfer value, it strongly suggests that the player is already on his way and Saints need to be looking at reinforcements.
The timing could hardly be worse the day before a big home game and with just a week left of the transfer window. Saints will need to find an equivalent physical presence up front and it is a pity we could not have taken £6m for Jones and spent the £4m that Sheffield United did for Beattie, an ideal replacement.
As so often in the last three years, it's not the losing of the player so much as not being able to replace them with similar quality. Time for the board to back Burley and make a statement with a signing of some intent.