Lowton – spirit not shaken by the drop

The 26-year-old was Sean Dyche’s first summer signing, arriving for £1m from Aston Villa.

And, ahead of pulling on a different claret and blue shirt for the first time tonight against Etoile Carouge in Geneva, he has been impressed by the work ethic and togetherness of the players.

Lowton had a watching brief for Burnley’s last Premier League game, the 1-0 win at Villa Park, having been left out of Tim Sherwood’s matchday squad, and he is looking forward to being a part of a promotion push with the Clarets: “Watching them, they were a very hardworking team.

“You knew what you were going to get from them, right from minute one they were going to close you down and not let you have any time on the ball.

“That showed in the last game of the season, even though they’d unfortunately already been relegated, you could see the attitude of the lads.

“They didn’t stop playing, they went out and turned Villa over. It showed the effort and commitment they’ve got towards the manager and the team.”

Lowton was relegated from the Championship with Sheffield United in 2011, playing alongside an on-loan Sam Vokes earlier in the campaign.

And the Chesterfield-born right back added: “I experienced relegation myself at Sheffield United, it’s tough to take, but there’s nothing you can do about it now.

“The main thing is starting pre-season and the season off right.

“The lads all seem together.

“Everyone’s around each other and there’s a great spirit so hopefully we can use that to get points.”