Clarets striker Gray expects MK Dons to provide a stern test

Record signing Andre Gray has warned against any complacency ahead of tonight’s home game with promoted MK Dons.
Burnley's Andre Gray celebrates scoring his sides third goal 

Photographer Stephen White/CameraSport

Football - The Football League Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Sheffield Wednesday - Saturday 12th September 2015 -  Turf Moor - Burnley

© CameraSport - 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comBurnley's Andre Gray celebrates scoring his sides third goal 

Photographer Stephen White/CameraSport

Football - The Football League Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Sheffield Wednesday - Saturday 12th September 2015 -  Turf Moor - Burnley

© CameraSport - 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Burnley's Andre Gray celebrates scoring his sides third goal Photographer Stephen White/CameraSport Football - The Football League Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Sheffield Wednesday - Saturday 12th September 2015 - Turf Moor - Burnley © CameraSport - 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

Burnley go in search of a fourth-successive win, having climbed to fifth place in the Championship after beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 at Turf Moor on Saturday.

But Gray, who created the second goal for Matt Taylor before scoring the third himself on his home debut, feels Karl Robinson’s men may be an even tougher nut to crack.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It isn’t Sean Dyche’s style to take any opponent for granted, and Gray has the same mentality, having helped Brentford reach the play-offs last season as a promoted side: “Every game’s going to be difficult. I was at a team that came up last season and we shocked a lot of people.

“We were going away to places like Norwich and Derby and dominating games, so we can’t underestimate them.

“It will be tougher playing them than it probably could be playing teams higher up in the league.

“We can’t underestimate them whatsoever. They’re coming here with nothing to lose.

“We’ve got to be even better than we were on Saturday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We’ve got to keep learning, and as the games go by I think we’ll keep getting better.”

Burnley remain unbeaten at home, and their only league defeat in the opening six games came at Ipswich Town.

The Clarets are still to hit anywhere near top form, but things look promising, although Gray isn’t getting carried away: “It is early days. We just need to keep going from here now.

“There are going to be hiccups along the way, that’s just football. But as long as we keep that consistency and win when we’re not playing well, like we did against Bristol City and at times on Saturday, then we’ve got a chance.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While it is early days for the team, Gray admits there is much more to come from him personally: “I can only get fitter now.

“It’s just a case of keep working hard in training and especially in games.

“Hopefully throughout these next four or five games I can keep getting even fitter and scoring more goals.

“I’m nowhere near the finished article.

“I can still be quicker and stronger and be a lot better on the ball with my first touch and my all round game.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I’m still learning the game, so there’s not one particular thing, it’s everything.

“I’ve learnt a lot already from the manager and the whole team, they’re a lot more experienced.

“We were a young team at Brentford and all striving for the same thing, whereas here everyone was in the Premier League last season and they’ve been in this league a lot so I’m learning a lot from them in training.”

He feels he is already reaping the benefits of extra fitness work at Burnley: “It’s something we’ve been working on over the last two weeks with the break just to get my fitness up, especially in that last 10-15 minutes when that fatigue’s kicking in just to keep going. I’ve worked a lot on it over the last two weeks and the rewards came off.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The way we played at Brentford was the complete opposite to how we play here so the fitness is completely different for me.

“I was finding it difficult in training but we all saw that and it wasn’t a punishment for me to do extra after training.

“It was just a case of being leggy after training and doing that extra bit of running and finishing when I’m tired and it worked winning the ball back in the 90th minute and finding my composure just to finish it as I could have lashed out.

“It just proves you have to keep going throughout the game, even when it might not be going for you.”