WHEN Burnley found out that the first ever Premier League match to take place at Turf Moor would be against Manchester United, Brendan Flood did not hesitate to contact a couple of old friends – Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

A home game against United is appealing enough for everyone involved with the Clarets, but operational director Flood will be keen to put one over on a club with which he has a number of business links.

Giggs and Neville could yet be involved for the visitors on August 18, and they have told Flood that Burnley may be playing United at the right time, with Alex Ferguson’s side traditionally starting the season slowly.

“I’ve got lots of pals at United,” said Flood.

“I went and wound up the players I know, so I don’t think they’ll be looking forward to it!

"But some of the lads there did say the best time to play them is at the start of the season.

“So we’ve got to hope that our confidence and the end of last season, against the big clubs starting out and getting into a rhythm, that hopefully the margin between us isn’t much and we might be able to get a few points on the board early doors.

“I’m good pals with Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

“They did say that if your fans do make a lot of noise and make their presence felt then the United players dreaded playing at Stoke because the fans made such a difference.”