WALTERS RIGHT TO JON US

Ward says striker perfect for fight

STEPHEN WARD believes signing Jon Walters is a massive boost for Burnley’s Premier League survival mission next season. Ward knows from bitter experience what can happen when a club gets ahead of itself after staying in the top flight. It happened when he was at Wolves, with the Molineux outfit slipping back down to the Championship after their third season in the Premier League. Wolves haven’t been back since. The Dubliner also experienced relegation less than a year after joining Burnley but, last season, the Claret’s stayed up in the Premier League for the first time in three attempts. And Ward insists that another 15th place finish next May would be a brilliant result. The 31-year-old said: “It happened to me at Wolves. Once you stay up the first year, clubs get carried away. “Straightaway the chairman is saying, ‘We’ve got to finish in 14th, 1 3 t h , 12th...’. People can lose that sort of respect of how hard the Premier League is. “When they do it once they think it’s automatically going to happen again.” Ward believes that a fully settled in Robbie Brady, after his January move, plus the arrival of Jack Cork from Swansea and Walters, inset, from Stoke, can ensure another successful survival campaign. “It’s about keeping the right mentality of being that underdog and working,” he said. “With the manager we have (Sean Dyche), there’s no way we’ll get carried away. “You keep the team spirit the same. With the infrastructure we have, we will attract players. “But as the manager says, we’re not the biggest payers in the market – we’re at the lower end. “He’ll attract the right players. You can see the lads he’s already brought in, they’ll fit in right. “Jonny’s going to be a real asset. “They asked me about him numerous times when it looked like he might become available previously. “It’s great to have him. He’s a good friend, a great player and he’ll be brilliant for us. “If you look at the way he plays, how vital he has been for Stoke and how we set up and play our game, he ticks every box for us – big, strong, scores goals and works hard. “The manager always says he wants us to be fit and to compete because that gives us half a chance. Jonny epitomises that.” Ward added: “If you offered the manager 17th place he’d probably feel like he’d want us to do better. “But it would mean that we’ve stayed in the Premier League again and for a club like Burnley to do that in any way possible for a second consecutive season would be a massive, achievement. “Teams will maybe figure us out in how we play and will make games difficult for us. We’ll have to find new ways to win. “But we’ve made some really positive signings so far. Hopefully we can have an even more successful season”.