|
Certainly LOL boss Simon Grayson sees it as a big game, and it is very much worth noting that he sees us as their biggest pre-season test, having previously played against Newcastle and Blackburn. "You can either have your pre-season against teams above you or teams below you, but I feel top teams make you work even harder," Grayson said.
"We could have easily had a European game or played against a team below us, but I wanted a good test. I know Owen Coyle well, Burnley have done well and it'll be a good game for us. They like to play and entertain and I'm sure they're geared up for the Premier League."
Grayson has made three signings to date since the end of last season. Ipswich's Richard Naylor was the first and he's been followed by Jason Crowe from Northampton and Cheltenham goalkeeper Shane Higgs.
Naylor has been named club captain but he'll miss this afternoon's game with injury as will Neil Kilkenny.
For Burnley it will be a first opportunity for our new signings to sample Turf Moor and almost certainly we'll see them feature if all have reported fit. The only doubts reported are Michael Duff and Martin Paterson.
Duff suffered an ankle injury when he went into the Portland Beavers' pitching area last week whilst Paterson hasn't played since the Morecambe game and has been suffering from a tight hamstring. Owen Coyle did suggest on their return from America that he could be fit for this game.
Should both be fit then we'll select from the full squad which is:
Brian Jensen, Diego Penny, Tyrone Mears, Richard Eckersley, Stephen Jordan, Christian Kalvenes, Brian Easton, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Michael Duff, David Edgar, Graham Alexander, Joey Gudjonsson, Remco van der Schaaf, Wade Elliott, Kevin McDonald, Chris McCann, Chris Eagles, Robbie Blake, Martin Paterson, Steven Thompson, Jay Rodriguez, Steven Fletcher.