Striker Vokes ready for challenges at Turf Moor
The Clarets’ survival was predominantly down to their results at Turf Moor, where they claimed 10 wins, and 33 of their 40 points.
Burnley face their first home game of the new season tomorrow when they host West Brom, with Vokes’ old Clarets strike partner Jay Rodriguez expected to make his first start at Turf Moor since leaving the club in 2011.
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Hide AdThe Wales international expects teams to make life tougher for Burnley this season: “I think teams will approach it different. We were the unknown quantity last year, but now teams will come and know what to expect. For us we need to deal with a different kind of expectation and take that on.”
And he feels it is a case of reacting to what the opposition have to offer: “We don’t have to adapt it, I think we just have to be aware of what other teams are going to be doing. For us I’m sure teams will line up differently and for us it’s about taking it on.”
Vokes netted twice in the opening day win at Chelsea as a lone forward, but it remains to be seen whether Sean Dyche goes into home games with one up front.
Vokes enjoys the role regardless: “It’s something we’re getting used to a as a team. It’s about being able to adapt it. We’ve got some strong midfielders in there and there’s a lot of competition for places now. Whether I’m playing in a two or a one I know my job well so I’ll do that for the team.”
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Hide AdAnd survival is still the initial goal for the Clarets: “It’s our first target. We’re one game into the season. It’s nice to start off with three points but we’ll keep that as our goal and when we achieve that we’ll move on from there.”