Long’s determined to make most of big chance at last

WITH a Europa League qualifier on July 26, Kevin Long will have a shorter vacation than most of his fellow professionals. Not that he minds. Having waited for what seemed an age to make a Burnley breakthrough, he’d play every week of the year if he could. For the strapping Cork native is desperate to improve and knows the best way for that to happen is to cross the white line regularly. He started for Ireland in Turkey in March and he’s likely to experience more game time against France on Monday night as Martin O’Neill is a big fan. In contrast, Richard Keogh appears to be out of favour after missing the cut yesterday for a second straight international. Long, 27, is physically imposing, courageous and as a left footer, he offers a balance in central defence. A year ago, before his call to arms against Austria in Dublin, he admitted he didn’t feel like a Premier League footballer. After 16 games this season, including the final seven, he does now and he’s eager to push on. ‘I still feel like I’ve got a lot more in the locker. I’m nowhere near peak,’ he insisted. ‘I feel like every game I play, I’m getting better and better. It takes time, I haven’t had a lot of football over the last few years, so I still feel like I’m improving,’ he said yesterday. Signed by Burnley at the end of 2009, Long has only chalked up 50 first team appearances — 19 of them this season. ‘There was difficult moments,’ he acknowledged. ‘I always Presence: Kevin Long felt I was capable of playing but the last three, four years has been the most successful in the club’s history and the people who got in ahead of me were all doing really well.’ They included Michael Keane, who moved to Everton last summer, Ben Mee and James Tarkowski. ‘I always felt I was capable, it was just getting a chance to prove it. When a team is doing so well and kicking on, it’s hard to show what you can do but there’s been a few injuries this year and I’ve come in and think I’ve done well.’ A short summer break precedes a first Europa League involvement for Burnley amid talk their squad won’t be able to cater for two games a week. ‘Everyone keeps saying, it’s going to be demanding playing Thursday and Sunday but a lot of us have come from the Championship when you play Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday pretty much the whole season, so Sunday-Thursday-Sunday is not much different.’ Before all that is Paris. It is the latest test for Long, and arguably his toughest yet. That’s just the way he wants it.