THAT’S ALL , VOKES
Clarets saviour promises ‘something special’ in Europe
SAM VOKES predicts Burnley can achieve “something special” in Europe.
The Clarets overcame an early scare to draw their Europa League qualifying tie at Aberdeen, Vokes volleying home an 80th-minute equaliser.
The second leg is next week and Burnley face a tough season juggling the Premier League and Europe if they progress in the competition.
Many clubs have slid down the table because of the demands of extra games and less time to work on issues in training.
But for Vokes the novelty of being in Europe will not diminish. He said: “It’s great to be part of that and great to be involved in a squad that’s doing something special.
“The last few years we’ve been breaking those records so it’s good to be part of it. As a squad we knew last season when we qualified it’s a new thing for most of us. We’ve never played European club football and we want to go as far as we can and get to the group stage.
“We know there are some tough hurdles. This game was the first one and it was a good night overall in Aberdeen.”
Vokes (below, celebrating his goal) added: “It’s nice for myself, but as a team it was important we didn’t lose. We knew whatever the result we wanted to take at least a goal back to Turf Moor.
“We can build on this and hopefully be a lot stronger come next Thursday night. It’s still early in pre-season for us and to come into a competitive game was always going to be tough in a cup-like atmosphere.
“There’s no better night than at Turf Moor under the lights. It’s going to be another big one. I’m sure Aberdeen will bring the fans down and it will be a similar night and hopefully we can get the job done.”
Burnley’s night started badly when keeper Nick Pope, who was in the England World Cup squad, was taken off injured after 14 minutes. That gave former Manchester United keeper Anders Lindegaard the chance for his debut.
“It’s very unlucky for Nick,” Lindegaard. “You could see how focused he was. He brought a lot of energy from having that experience with the national team.
“I kind of hoped to play from the start because Nick was just back from holiday and Tom Heaton’s been out injured.
“I have had a good, strong pre-season. You want to play all the time. I’m a loyal soldier for Burnley and I’m in that trench.
“I’ve had a rough couple of years for various reason and I came back on probably not the busiest of nights for a goalkeeper but I’m proud to be playing back at the highest level.
“It can be difficult when you’re not involved but I owe more than people can understand to Burnley Football Club and Sean Dyche and the management team. I’m a loyal servant to this club.”
Lindegaard warned there is still work for Burnley on Thursday.
He said: “It would be a mistake to think it’s going to be easy at Turf Moor. The game is nowhere near done. The tie is still very much open.
“We were pleased with our away goal, of course. But we’re not sitting in the locker room with the feeling we’ve won it and the tie is a done deal. We have to fight for the right to get through to the next round.”