Following Burnley's relegation to the Championship, there has been plenty of change at the club ahead of the new season. 

There has been the departures of long serving players Ben Mee and James Tarkowski amongst others.

However, Vincent Kompany has been appointed as the club's new manager and the club are looking towards a new era.

One player that is staying at the club from the Premier League is Ashley Barnes who had his year's option on his contract taken up.

Barnes first signed for Burnley in the 2013-14 season and has played fairly regularly for them ever since.

Therefore, he is now looking forward to the new challenge as his side tries to gain promotion back to the top flight as he told the Burnley Express: "Yeah, once they took up the option, I was delighted to get back with this new adventure now.

"It's a fresh start for everyone, it's going to be a new challenge, new ideas, and it will be interesting to see which new faces come in.

"There's still a few of us older ones here and now we have to look after the young ones and help them every day.

"That's something we're all looking forward to, with the new additions that possibly come in, it's getting the team bonding going again, for another season, to be promoted.

"We've got to do the work and it will be a tough pre-season, but you've got to grind through it and be ready for the start of the season."

 

 

The Verdict:

Following their relegation to the Championship, it came as no surprise that there were a number of departures from Turf Moor.

However, Barnes seems happy to be at the club and well prepared for the new challenge they are set to face next season in their attempt for promotion to the Premier League again, something he has achieved twice with the Clarets.

The 32-year-old has plenty of experience and it's clear to see that he is eager to use that to help some of the younger players in the squad and create a good team bond.

It will no doubt be a very different experience at Burnley than he's experienced before, but the striker is looking forward to the new era.