PRE-SEASON isn't much fun for a footballer.

Back when I played, it was a rude awakening after your summer break. You forgot all about training and relaxed. Then, when you came back, it was seven days of cross-country runs and blisters.

Things are very different now, but one thing that hasn't changed is the importance of new players getting settled in quickly.

It was nice to see Burnley's new signings, Gabor Kiraly and Besart Berisha, in on the first day of pre-season.

It's going to be massively important for both of them to fit in quickly, especially for Berisha.

In the first few days, they'll try to get the feel for their team-mates and the staff, of the new training facilities and the feel of the place.

Coming from foreign climes, it's going to be doubly difficult for our Albanian import but I'm sure the Burnley boys will make him feel welcome and help him to settle in quickly.

But they'll do things a little bit differently than we did.

I remember back in 1968 when Jim Thomson signed for Burnley from Chelsea. I was out injured at the time and Harry Potts gave me £10 to take him out.

So I took him to the Rose Hill House Hotel on Manchester Road, let him unpack and have his dinner, and then we went out.

We had a few drinks and we went around a few of the pubs and clubs in Burnley, which didn't take very long in those days, and we had a good drink.

The next day, I picked him up and took him into the club and introduced him to the rest of the players.

Then I said: "Right, see you later Jim, I'm off to the treatment room." His face was a picture because he had to get stuck into training with a belly full of beer. We still laugh about it today.

But his settling in was more or less done in a matter of hours, but that kind of thing doesn't go on today. However, I'm sure the Burnley people will still find their own way to help him settle in.

For the Burnley fans, it's important that he and his team-mates hit the ground running.

We saw last season that it took the likes of Ade Akinbiyi and Joey Gudjonsson a little while to get a feeling of how the team played and get their fitness levels up. when they joined mid-season.

But if we're serious about getting into the top six for next season, the players need to gel as a unit for the start of the season.

I'm also expecting a few more faces at the training ground in the next couple of weeks.

The transfer market has been pretty quiet so far but as most contracts ended at the end of June, a lot of players are coming on to the market.

And I'm hoping that Steve will be active. He'll have his targets and I'm hoping he'll be able bring a few in.