THE unveiling of the Jimmy McIlroy Stand at Turf Moor has been warmly welcomed by Clarets fans delighted to see one of their all-time heroes honoured by the Burnley hierarchy.

The club has re-named the East Stand in McIlroy's honour and in the eyes of the supporters it's one of the best off-the-pitch decision a Burnley board has ever made. "It's superb and I'm sure all our members will endorse what's been done. It just goes to show how things are changing at the club," said Accrington Clarets chairman Phil Miller.

"As Barry Kilby said the other day you can make money but you've got to have a feeling for the club.

"I think it's a superb gesture by the club and the present board and it couldn't be more fitting to happen to a man like Jimmy McIlroy. It's a superb honour for a superb player."

And Miller's comments were echoed by Burnley Supporters' Club vice-chairman Shaun Borman.

"I'm delighted. Jimmy McIlroy was a great player and I can't think of anyone better than him to name it after.

"It's gone down very well. Barry Kilby has said he would do things for the supporters and he has done it.

"The supporters choosing the away kit was another thing and it's going the right way forward. The supporters are being made to feel more wanted by the club," said Borman, who hopes naming of other areas of the ground after past greats will soon follow suit.

McIlroy's delight at being honoured by the Clarets, and his expected return to Turf Moor to watch Burnley's games this season, also went down well with the fans. "Jimmy's sentiments of re-signing for the club and coming in from the cold were especially poignant. It's something that all Burnley fans have wanted since the stands were constructed," said Tony Armstrong, press officer for the Clarets Independent Supporters Association.

Burnley have dropped all admission prices by £2 for the second leg of their Worthington Cup clash against Manchester City at Turf Moor on Tuesday, August 24.

However, the Clarets won't now be entertaining City in a pre-season friendly - as we reported in later editions of yesterday's Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

City asked for the fixture on Saturday, July 17 to be scrapped after being paired with Burnley in the cup.

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