BURNLEY player-boss Adrian Heath was ready to launch his Turf Moor league of nations today.
And with Second Division safety guaranteed, Heath was targeting TWO continental stars - one from from Germany and one from Holland - as he begins the task of re-building the Clarets' squad for a promotion assault next season.
And I can reveal Heath has opened negotiations with a Premiership player in a bid to bring him to Turf Moor on trial.
"I've spoken to a number of players, including footballers from Holland and Germany," revealed Heath.
"I am looking at the midfield area and up front. I am just waiting for several telephone calls to see whether we can bring the players over to England.
Heath rates one of the players as a very exciting prospect.
"It is an area I am keen to pursue because there is a lot of quality on the continent.
"We are currently paying silly money for players in this country. If you can't compete with the big transfers then you have to look at other options."
Meanwhile, a delighted Heath reflected on the the dramatic 2-0 win at Wrexham which secured Second Division safety for Burnley at the Racecourse.
First half strikes from Liam Robinson and leading scorer Kurt Nogan shocked play-off chasing Wrexham and moved Burnley clear of the relegation frame. It left Heath to ponder on a seven-week managerial baptism of fire since his appointment at Turf Moor Heath in March.
"We can relax now and get ourselves ready for a very different scenario next season," Heath promised.
"It has been a dramatic couple of months and we've had to put a brave face on things at times.
"But, most importantly, it is a great relief to reach safety. Now we can plan ahead for next term. I was delighted with the result at Wrexham, particularly the way we approached the game.
"We've played well in our last three away fixtures and this was very much the icing on the cake.
"We were very disciplined and very tight. We defended very well when we had to. The system and our approach has worked well. We've had to get used to teams coming to Turf Moor and stacking players behind the ball.
"That's exactly what we had to do at Wrexham. I'm very pleased at the way we played there. We deserved the win and we were full value."
He added: "Liam Robinson's goal was a great strike and a great finish.
"I doubt you would have seen a better goal all weekend. I had told Robinson and Smith to make runs inside the full-backs and it worked.
"It is very pleasing when things you do on the training ground go to plan on a match day.
"Kurt Nogan took his goal very well. He hasn't had the chances recently because he's simply not had the support. But his goal was a very good finish."
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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