GEORGE Burley has dismissed a derisory' bid for Chris Baird from Fulham - and insisted he has no intention of selling Saints'player of the year.

In fact, so serious is Burley about keeping hold of his star defender that he is willing to open negotiations to extend Baird's contract, which still has two years left to run.

As reported in the Daily Echo yesterday, former Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez, now full-time manager at Craven Cottage, lodged an offer with Saints to try and land the player he had previously worked so closely with at international level.

However, the bid - said to be around £2.5m - was dismissed out of hand by Burley.

He said: "There was a small bid - a ridiculous offer - which Fulham made for Chris.

"Certainly, Chris is not a player we're even thinking about letting go.

"He has two years left on his current deal, he's our player of the season and he signed a contract at the end of last season because he did so well.

"We'll be talking with him again about extending his contract.

"Fulham made a derisory offer - a ridiculous amount of money for somebody of Chris's quality - and we've got no thoughts whatsoever of letting Chris go.

"Lawrie Sanchez knows him from Northern Ireland and they've made this public in the papers, which is ridiculous really."

Sanchez is believed to be weighing up an improved bid with fellow Premiership outfit Blackburn also following developments, but Burley's reaction may make them think again.