THE winning feeling is something David May has grown used to down the years.

The former Manchester United defender has a plethora of trophies and medals in his cabinet to remind him of the glory years at Old Trafford.

But life at Burnley has shown May the other side of football - the empty feeling that accompanies defeat.

And the veteran defender believes Burnley might have eased the suffering of all supporters last season if some of his team mates had been tougher.

He said: "I have only ever been used to winning. Getting beat was never even thought of at United.

"Everyone should be bothered about being beaten, but there were times at Burnley last season when I think we should have done better.

"Whether that was not in the nature of some people, I don't know. But there is nothing worse than getting beat and certainly some players seemed to think it didn't really matter.

"If you are beaten by a better team, you hold your hands up and, to a certain extent, accept it.

"But there were games that were nip and tuck that led you to believe if we could get it together and start grinding things out, you could get a result.

"There was a feeling that some people were happy to accept defeat early in a game and, so long as they had done all right, then they were happy.

"It's a mentality you have and it can be difficult to accept those reactions."

May's stunning revelations are sure to reverberate around the Turf Moor dressing room.

But coming from a defender with a proven pedigree, it should also strike home that last season was a step backwards for the club as a whole.

And the straight-talking defender does not exclude himself from criticism when assessing a campaign that saw Burnley just avoid slipping back into footballing oblivion.

"From a personal point of view I have probably been happy in something like 25 games, but there were times where I felt I let myself down," he admitted.

"I come away looking at myself and if I'm not happy with my game, it doesn't matter what others say.

"I've had occasions where people have told me I've played well and I reckon I've been **** because their centre forward has had three chances at goal.

"I judge myself on that criteria - how they have done against me. Maybe some fans would think I did okay, but I look at the goals against column and seventy seven is woeful.

"I am only glad there were five teams worse than us."

May, who is still sweating on a new contract from Burnley following the announcement of a new manager , added: "Overall though, I've enjoyed last year.

"I played over 40 games and I am well pleased with that, albeit disappointed with how things went for the team.

"I think many supporters might not have expected me to play in so many games, given I missed so many for Manchester United.

"But it has never been through the common belief that I'm injury prone. It's just that when I was at United there were players in front of me, so I never got the chance to play."