GERRY Harrison is ready to commit himself to Burnley - if the price is right.

Harrison has been offered a two-year deal and is keen to stay with the Clarets.

A representative for the player has spoken with new Burnley boss Stan Ternent and it appears the desire for Harrison to stay on at Turf Moor is mutual.

But at a critical stage of his career and with other clubs interested, Harrison is after the best possible package.

He said: "My agent spoke to him and Stan Ternent said he wants to keep me.

"I have spoken to the chairman who gave me an improved offer but he said it wasn't the final offer and as I have got a family and a young baby I have got to look after myself.

"There are other options at the moment so I am sticking around. I would like to stay, that's never been in doubt. I told the chairman that if the money was right I would stay.

"I am on the down slope of my career now. I'm only 26 but I have got to get as good a deal as I can." Playing under Ternent is something that appeals to Harrison who went on the transfer-list last season but finished the campaign as one of the side's most consistent and impressive performers.

"I have spoken to a few people about Stan Ternent and they have said he's fair," added the former Watford and Bristol City defender.

"A lot of people say he's a players' manager. I have spoken to people who have worked under him and if you do the business for him he does the business for you.

"He's 100 per cent fair and extremely honest and if you are a player that's half the battle.

"If you look at his record people want to play for him so he must be doing something right."

Harrison, signed by Jimmy Mullen in 1994, could be a key man for Burnley next season if Ternent persists with the formation he used for most of the time at Bury.

The Shakers played with three central defenders, one of whom tended to operate as a sweeper.

Former Sunderland man Gordon Armstrong often filled that role at Gigg Lane and Harrison could be earmarked for the job with Burnley as it appears to be his best and most favoured position.

Quick and a good reader of the game, Harrison is effective at mopping up and his runs from the back to launch attacks have become a trademark. Ternent will inevitably be linked with Bury players as he reshapes the squad at Burnley and much of his success at Gigg Lane was built on a rock-solid defence and a quality keeper in Dean Kiely. The highly-rated pair of Chris Lucketti and Paul Butler were instrumental in Bury's rise to the First Division and their survival there last season.

However, they and Kiely are all still under contract. And while Bury may look to cash in at some point during the future to avoid losing them next summer under the Bosman ruling, they are likely to be out of Burnley's price range as things stand - even if Ternent is interested in being reunited with them.

More readily available would be ex-Clarets Adrian Randall and perhaps notably Peter Swan who has twice played for Ternent before. The pair are believed to be on the transfer list at Bury along with left-sided player Jason Peake.

Jimmy Mullen, offered a two-year contract at Telford United, will be managing in the Vauxhall Conference next season after Telford won a reprieve from relegation due to Slough's resignation from the league.

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