Duff and Lafferty commit to new deals

Last updated : 07 March 2007 By Tony Scholes
Kyle Lafferty - along with Michael Duff has signed a new contract with the Clarets
For Duff, a new deal was a priority. He joined the Clarets from Cheltenham in the summer of 2004 on a three year deal and was Steve Cotterill's second Burnley signing, That contract would have come to an end in the summer but the club have confirmed today that he has committed himself to the Clarets for another three seasons beyond the current one.

His international team mate Kyle Lafferty was already under contract until the end of the 2008/09 season, a deal he signed early last year, and today's news means he's extended that by another season. The club have obviously moved quickly to tie him down for longer following the recent bid from Celtic and the supposed interest from Premiership clubs including local rivals Blackburn Rovers.

The two players now join recent signings Joey Gudjonsson and captain Steven Caldwell in having signed deals for three seasons past this one, and manager Steve Cotterill was delighted to have seen both players put pen to paper.

"To have someone as young as Kyle come through the youth ranks and be in the first team squad as a striker is excellent," the manager said. "We are delighted with his progress and look forward, as time goes on, to him playing a bigger part in the future of the club."

Turning his attentions to Duff he added: "I think Michael has to date probably been our most consistent player this season although I also think that quite probably over the last month a little rest might have helped him.
"He's played an enormous amount of football this season with the internationals on top of his Burnley games and we are delighted to have secured his services for another three and a half years."