Gray looking forward to new season

"It was a tough time for me at Sunderland," Andy admitted during a season when the home crowd were less than favourable towards him.

"But it was a tough time for a lot of the players up there, not just me," he added. "It was a terrible season in terms of results and when you are losing all the time, it's never going to be easy."

Although he's delighted to become a Claret he admits that he has no hard feelings towards Sunderland. "It's a great club but it just didn't work out for me," he said. "I wish them all the best and I'm already looking forward to the game next season and seeing the lads again."

On Burnley he added: "The move was all agreed when I first came to Burnley and nothing I have seen at Turf Moor has done anything to change my mind that this was the perfect move for me. Right from the moment I first spoke to Steve Cotterill, I wasn't interested in joining any other club and I feel I settled in very quickly. All the lads were great in welcoming me to the club and frankly I can't wait to get started again next season now."

Having signed that deal with the Clarets until the end of the 2008/09 season he is now looking forward to forming a partnership with Steve Jones, the recent capture from Crewe. "I've played against Steve a few times and he's a very good player whose attributes should complement mine. I like to hold the ball up and feel I can contribute in the air and Steve will look to use his pace to get in behind defenders."