CLARETS ARE EUROPA HOPERS

BURNLEY winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson says his teammates are dreaming of the Europa League – and hit back at critics of the competition.

Clarets boss Sean Dyche has been coy on his side’s hopes of qualifying for Europe ahead of today’s trip to West Ham.

Burnley are seventh in the table which should secure a Europa League spot, provided the FA Cup winners finish in the top five.

It would ensure their first European adventure since the 1966–67 Inter-cities Fairs Cup.

The Europa League is seen as the ugly sister of Champions League, but Gudmundsson insists it should not be sneered at.

“For a club like Burnley, going into the Europa League would be a fantastic achievement,” said the Iceland star (right).

“We will try to get more strong results before the end of the season, and see what happens.

“It’s Europe and you want to test yourself against different teams.

“It is definitely something that the players will be looking at.

“Since I came to

England the Europa

League has not been viewed as a competition that you want to be in.

“But for a club like

Burnley to get in to it would be another historic moment and another great achievement in what we’re building.” Gudmundsson will be part of the Iceland squad that heads to the World Cup for the first time in the country’s history later this year. They are not expected to get out a group which includes Lionel Messi’s Argentina plus Croatia and Nigeria. But the 27-year-old admits he relishes the opportunity to fight against the odds – both for club and country. “It’s nice to be the underdog and people like the underdogs,” he added. “You go into games where you’re not expected to do a lot, so it brings more freedom to play.”