Europa League beckons again for Wood
All Whites striker Chris Wood is hopeful he can score goals again in Europe as Burnley approach their first Europa League campaign.
The Clarets qualified for the Europa League after finishing seventh in the English Premier League last season and face a qualifying round trip to Scottish club Aberdeen on July 26 with the return leg seven days later in Burnley.
Wood, 26, is no stranger to Europe’s second tier competition, however, after playing in the league for then League Cup champions Birmingham City in the 2011-12 season while on loan from West Bromwich Albion as a 19-year-old.
‘‘I scored a couple in Europe, which was nice, and hopefully there’ll be a lot more to come,’’ he told the from Burnley’s pre-season camp in Ireland.
‘‘We got to the group stages and we did quite well in the group stages, which is nice.
‘‘It’s a different feel to it, a lot more travelling, but it’s good fun and I’m sure the fans will enjoy themselves.
Wood said combining EPL and Europa League duties could be a grind, but it was no different to the playing schedule in England’s Championship second tier, where he and most of his team-mates had experienced Saturday and Tuesday games.
‘‘Most of these boys have done it before and I don’t think it will be a problem,’’ he told the
‘‘If you’re playing in the Premier League for so long it is tough because you don’t know what it’s like in the Championship, but in the Championship it’s normal, it’s gruelling in the Championship with 50 games a season, but the Europa League could take our tally up to that.
‘‘It’s a different challenge, it’s going back to the grinding days, you don’t have time for your body to recover, you’re playing through niggles and at 80 or 90 per cent. ‘‘I’m hoping the Championship experience in this squad will put us in good stead for that, we know what it’s about and how to recover quickly from games.’’
Wood joined Burnley last August for a club record $NZ26.4 million transfer from Championship club Leeds United.
The Kiwi played the first half of Burnley’s opening pre-season game against Cork City yesterday as manager Sean Dyche gave his frontline players 45 minutes each.
Burnley won 1-0 with a late goal from Irish centreback Jimmy Dunne.
He scored 10 goals in 24 matches.