'I couldn't wish for a better start': Vaclav Hladky opens up on dream Burnley debut with Cardiff City shutout

The summer signing deputised for James Trafford for Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing of Cardiff City after the 21-year-old missed out through illness.

Hladky was understandably delighted to keep a clean sheet on his first Burnley outing, something that has been a rarity for the Clarets – with it not going unnoticed that it was the club’s first shutout of 2024.

“It was really good,” Hladky told Clarets+. “We didn’t expect this, although we certainly worked to get the win.

“Obviously we had to go through some difficulties in the first half but at the end of the day, the result is brilliant.

“It’s a clean sheet and if you get a clean sheet, you’re always happy. No matter what.

“The Championship is a tough competition and you always have to work hard to get the right result, which we’ve managed to do.”

Summarising his debut, the 33-year-old added: “It was absolutely fantastic, I couldn’t wish for a better start for me.

“It’s been a few months since my last game at the end of last season, so this was absolutely brilliant.”

Hladky earned the praise of Scott Parker after the game for the manner in which he played out from the back, using all of his experience to play quickly when the game required it and slowing things down at other stages.

The former Ipswich Town stopper, however, believes both he and his teammates can be even better.

“It’s the expectation for me to bring those things to the team and we’ve obviously been working on it through pre-season,” Hladky said.

“As a team with the gaffer, it takes time to get things together and we can definitely improve on certain things, but we’re definitely on a good way.

“The Cardiff result is absolutely fantastic. We can’t expect we’re going to win every game 5-0 though, there are still plenty of things through the game where you can be much more comfortable and bring the calmness in certain moments. There’s always some room to improve.”