HAVING agreed a new one-year deal with experienced defender Gordon Armstrong, Clarets boss Stan Ternent is hoping to finalise a deal with Dean West as soon as possible.

Ternent explained: "I have spoken with Gordon and that has been sorted out and now I am looking to sort out Dean.

"I have already spoken to him but he has now gone on holiday so I will see him again when he gets back. By then I hope to be in a position to offer him something.

"Westy and Glen do very well when they are playing together down the right and he is an important part of my squad. The fans showed they appreciate him by voting him as the player of the year for last season.

"I will do what I can for him because I know there would be no shortage of offers for him. But the good thing for us is that he wants to stay here. He has played with me for a long time and always done well.

"The previous season he had a few injury problems but that might help to prolong his career at the other end."

West will only be 30 later this year and Ternent believes he has plenty of football left in him.

Like West, Armstrong played under Ternent at Bury and they were the only members of his first team squad not to have a contract at least as far as the end of next season.

The versatile Armstrong will be 35 this summer but he was a regular part of the Clarets match day squad last season, albeit mainly on the bench. Four other 30-somethings, Lennie Johnrose, Kevin Ball, Tony Ellis and Mitchell Thomas, were released last month but Armstrong will now stay.

"I've agreed another year here, so I'm really pleased about that and I'm looking forward to being involved again next year," said Armstrong who was one of the manager's first signings when he came to Turf Moor in 1998.

"Hopefully we can carry on like we have been in the last few years now. We did well last season and unfortunately we didn't quite get there, but it wasn't through a lack of trying."

Armstrong has recently returned from a trip to France where he was watching some of the world's best young players in action in an Under-20 tournament that featured his teenage son playing for England.

"It was very interesting being out there and there were some great young players on show," he said. "The Brazilians won it and had some outstanding prospects but it was also interesting to look at teams like China that had great technical ability."