DANNY Ings cannot wait to break into the Burnley team – but he knows Jay Rodriguez and Charlie Austin will be a hard partner-ship to dislodge.
The teenage striker made his debut from the bench late on in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Barnsley, almost six months after signing.
The former Bournemouth forward had over half a season written off after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage in only his second training session.
Now fully recovered, Ings is determined to make his mark in the run-in.
And he believes that with a fully-fit Martin Paterson to choose from, as well as firing front men Jay Rodriguez and Charlie Austin to choose from, Burnley boast the most potent strike force in the Championship – a crucial factor as they head into an action packed run-in.
“The gaffer’s made it so he’s got a bit of everything,” said Ings ahead of tonight’s game at Reading (kick-off 8pm).
“In different games and different scenarios you can put different strikers in. other teams don’t have that.
“You have teams with a lot of money to spend and they have almost too many players.
“I think we’ve got just enough strikers to push each other on and get the best out of each other.
“It’s great for the club to get all of us as fit as we can be and hopefully give us that last push to try to get into the play-offs.”
“You need a good bunch of players in the same position to push each other through and get the best out of each other every week.
“That’s what we’ve got here. That’s one reason why we’ve been so successful.”
Despite his eagerness to be involved in Eddie Howe’s side, he insists he isn’t breathing down the next of Austin and Rodriguez.
“I wouldn’t say that. I look up to players like that.
“If there’s a ball and there’s a goal you know Charlie’s going to score, and there’s not one thing Jay Rod hasn’t got.
“That’s good for a young lad like me to come through and pick things up off them.
“Hopefully when they see me more in games they can pick things up off me.”
Ings was introduced for a nine-minute cameo on his debut against Barnsley in midweek, after finding out he had been named in the squad via the physios in the build-up to the game.
“I didn’t actually tell him directly,” said Burnley boss Howe. “I’ve been in regular contact with the physios, and Danny himself, asking him how he is, and I always had the Tuesday game in mind.
“It was sort seeped back to him that he was going to be involved and he was absolutely made up.”
Ings added: “The gaffer knew I’d get excited if I saw it (name on the board).
“The physios told me and made sure I was ready.
“It felt fantastic to get on the pitch. It’s been a long time coming so to me it was the best thing in the world to even be on the bench. It was just a bonus to get on after that.”
Howe, who said he was prepared to give Ings more minutes at Reading tonight, continued: “I think he was made up to get on the pitch, just to show a little glimpse of what he’s about because he’s a relatively unknown quantity here.
“No-one really knows what type of player he is, but hopefully he’s shown he’s a hard worker and he’s got pace.
“He loved playing in front of the Turf Moor crowd and to get that psychological boost.
“You’ve got to remember how young he is. Although he came with a pricetag he’s still only 19 and relatively inexperienced, so we’ve got to nurse him through that as well.
“The more the supporters get to know Danny I’m sure they’ll love him, because of his work-rate. Hard work will bring him success.”
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