IT took just 24 hours for Luke Chadwick to commit himself to Burnley for a year.

But if the Manchester United winger has his way, he could end up staying in East Lancashire a whole lot longer.

Chadwick yesterday swapped the Fort Knox-style security of United's secretive Carrington training facility for the more sobering surroundings of Gawthorpe.

In Padiham, there was never going to be an ever-willing press officer unveiling him to a gaggle of hardened hacks.

Instead, Stan Ternent was his only ally as he was casually introduced as the latest piece in the Burnley manager's jigsaw.

And Chadwick is determined to solve the puzzle of his own stop-start career by making a real impression during his Turf Moor stay.

He said: "At the start of this week, the United manager, Alex Ferguson, said there was interest from Burnley.

"He told me it was a nice club and I would enjoy playing there. After that, I made a decision on Tuesday to come here and give it a go.

"I'm not really sure what future I have at Manchester United, and if I have a good season here anything could happen. I'm just going to have to take this season and see what happens."

It's hardly surprising Chadwick has found his path to stardom blocked on the training fields of Carrington and the Theatre of Dreams itself.

Second in line to David Beckham is a place many footballers would happily settle for, and Cambridge-born Chadwick has consequently only racked up 18 career starts for the Premiership giants.

Frustratingly, he has been named substitute on just 21 other occasions, hinting that he is still some way down Ferguson's list of alternatives, despite Beckham's summer switch to Madrid.

But Chadwick also believes his own eagerness to snatch at the odd first team opportunity has been another reason why he has failed to hit the heights.

"I've never been able to break through on a regular basis, but I can't really argue," he openly admitted.

"I was at the best club in the world, with the best facilities and it's never easy to play at a club like that.

"There are already so many brilliant players there, with five or six world class midfielders. But they are looking to strengthen the squad further, so that makes it even harder.

"I don't even think David going to Real Madrid would have increased my chances of playing because of the way Ole Gunnar Solkjaer played out on the right. Then there are so many more midfielders, the manager could easily push a central player out there.

"But equally, maybe I haven't really deserved a place when I've had my chance. I've been inconsistent and I certainly don't feel as if I've fulfilled my potential.

"I feel I played well at times, but more often than not my next game was usually four or five weeks away, so it was hard to keep any consistency going.

"With regular games you can get that consistency."