DIMITRI Papadopoulos is the only Burnley player to have been given an international call-up for next week after being named in Greece's Under-21.
The Greek youngsters will take on their English counterparts at Ewood Park next Friday but Burnley's young striker has a long journey to make.
Blackburn may be only ten miles down the M65 from Bunrley but Papadopoulos will be taking the long road to Blackburn - via Athens.
Papadopoulos will link up with his international colleagues in his home country before hopping back on to a plane for the match that is just down the road from Turf Moor.
"The Greeks will be holding training sessions over there and they obviously want to thave Dimitri involved," explaiuned Clarets boss Stan Ternent. Having recently returned to Burnley after international duty in the Mediterranean Games in Tunisia, Papadopoulos has yet to establish himself in the first team at Turf Moor.
His one appearance in the Burnley first team was in the Worthington Cup defeat by Rushden and Diamonds although he has since scored for the reserves. But international duties have restricted his opportunities to impress at Burnley.
Clarets fans will be waiting to see if next Friday's match against Watford is postponed because of call-ups for Hornets players, as they might like the chance to see their new young striker in competitive action.
Burnley has only had the one player selected for their country because Gareth Taylor was left out of the Wales squad by manager Mark Hughes.
Alan Moore's flying form in the early weeks of the season might well have caught the attention of Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy but the injury he suffered against Norwich City a week ago came at exactly the wrong time.
Moore last played for his country in 1997 when he was a substitute in a match against Iceland while with Midddlesbrough. That was his eighth cap having made his debut the year before against the Czech Republic.
Moore, who last week signed a three-year deal with Burnley, hopes that regular first team football will help him to a n international recall. A combination of injuries and long spells in the reserves at the Riverside restricted his chances to impress and he is eager to get back into the Burnley first team as quickly as possible.
The 26-year-old winger injured his groin in the first half at Norwich City last week and that ruled him out of the game against Crewe and today's trip to The Hawthorns but it is not related to the injuries that affected his career on Teesside.
If the match against Watford is to be called off that will give Moore a bit longer to return to full fitness and the first team.
PROFESSIONAL Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor insists his members will stand firm, and united, by their claim for a better deal over television contracts.
Taylor yesterday had his first face-to-face meeting with Premier League chief Richard Scudamore since the uproar over payments from the league's hefty TV link-up exploded last weekend.
But the pair found little common ground in their bid to avert a players' strike and Taylor is adamant that his union will not give way.
"I have been told that the latest offer is the last one, so as a union what other action can we take," he said.
"My members feel they have been insulted, and I have been instructed not to accept any less than 5% of the television contract money.
"First we were told that the British players wouldn't support us; then it was the overseas players, and then the supporters. Let us see."
The pair will meet again in Manchester on Monday - but unless either party gives some ground the argument seems destined to escalate further.
With the PFA arguing they are entitled to 5% of the £1.5billion centrally agreed television deals with BSkyB and ITV - and the Premier League claiming they are not - what now looks likely is a court case to determine whether players can go on strike even though the dispute is not directly with their employers.
Taylor said: "The last fax from Richard Scudamore said they wanted to know why we thought we had the right to take industrial action.
"We are also getting letters of a similar nature from all the club chairmen, saying we have no right to take such action. But we do, we know we do - we have basic human rights and we have employment rights as well and we will go to court to prove it."
In 1997 the Premier League paid 5%, or £7.5million a year. Following the latest three-year deal they say they have offered more money - around £10million - but a lower percentage.
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