Everything Joe Worrall said about Burnley ahead of Wrexham meeting

Joe Worrall admits he’s not particularly surprised by Burnley’s slow start to the season.

The defender will be hoping to get one over his former club tonight when the Clarets travel to his new side Wrexham.

The 29-year-old departed Turf Moor on deadline day, sealing a permanent switch to North Wales for a fee believed to be in the region of £2m.

Despite being a popular figure at Gawthorpe, it never really worked out for Worrall on the pitch with Burnley.

During his first season, he was unable to get back in the side after suffering an early injury during Scott Parker’s 100-point promotion campaign. CJ Egan-Riley took his place and was part of a backline that kept a record-equalling 30 clean sheets and conceded just 16 goals.

Then opportunities were hard to come by in the Premier League the following season, starting just five league games.

Despite starting Burnley’s season opener against Notts County in the Carabao Cup, Worrall didn’t feature again under Nicky Hayen, leading to his departure to Wrexham on the final day of the transfer window.

The former Nottingham Forest man was on media duty with the local press on Monday as he previewed tonight’s game at the Racecourse Ground (7.45pm kick off).

Here’s everything he had to say about the Clarets, as per Sports Illustrated.

Tonight’s game

“I spoke to a few of the Burnley lads who I’m friends with this morning and we had a bit of a joke, ‘come on, tell me the team’. But the professionalism of sport is what it is and we’ve all got our own interests.

“But look, I had a really good two years there. I like Burnley, I've got a lot of time for some of the people at the club.

“But at the end of the day, I play for Wrexham now and I'll be doing everything I can to beat them.

“Burnley are a dangerous side and we can't just expect to turn up to the Racecourse and it be: ‘oh, it's going to be a hostile atmosphere’ and whatever. They've got quality, so we need to be bang on it to get a result.”

Was your time at Burnley frustrating?

“Extremely. Obviously I was at my hometown club, Forest, for a long time and my time was up there, so I joined Burnley, who were obviously a club coming back down from the Premier League and on a bit of a promotion charge under [Scott] Parker.

“I played the first three, broke my foot, and in that time, the defensive record they held that year with [James] Trafford in goal and Maxime Esteve and CJ Egan-Riley, Connor Roberts, Bashir Humphries, the list goes on, John Egan, who is obviously playing in the Premier League now with Hull.

“It was a really hard team to get into and I swallowed it up and played a bit of a backseat role in that promotion season, which I really enjoyed because the lads were great. But at the same time, I knew going into the Premier League, I played there before, I'd done pretty well there.

“We stayed up with Forest with me in the defence there and captain in the team, so I thought I could have helped a little bit more than I did last year.

“I think my opportunities were sparse and I took them when I got given them. But for whatever reason, I think there's more than what meets the eye at Burnley with team selection and a few bits and bobs behind the scenes that, again, I've not got a bad word to say about the club. I really enjoyed my time there. But for some reason, I was just kind of not in the eye of the manager or the club.

“I think that's led me to joining Wrexham, which is a club that I'm really excited to get going at in terms of the manager looks like an honest character.

“He's obviously got a lot of experience getting promoted and me speaking to other players he's worked with before, the captain at Burnley, Josh Cullen, was on loan at Bradford with him. He gave a glowing report on him and how he treats his players, so it was a no-brainer for me in the end.”

Are you surprised with Burnley’s slow start?

“Not particularly. I think the club are in a transition period. I think the manager's fresh in the building.

“There's a lot of young players at the club. I think they're missing the captain, Josh Cullen, and they've got a few players that are adapting to the situation.

“So, I'll say this politely, no, it doesn't surprise me. But at the same time, they have got quality and they will come good at some point in the season.

“It just needs to click for them. I think they've got some good players, but at the moment, it's just not working for them.

“And I think the club are, again, in a transition period. But to be perfectly honest, I'm really not focusing on Burnley as a football club. It's about the next game, which is Burnley.

“And I wish them all the best in the season. But tomorrow, we're going to turn up to the Racecourse and do our best to take three points off them.”