ASHLEY Barnes wants to repay the faith Burnley have shown in him this season after admitting his new Turf Moor deal is a ‘massive bonus’.

The 26-year-old signed on for three more years at the club in the first week of pre-season and celebrated by scoring against Stade Nyonnais in Switzerland.

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And despite suffering a scare on Saturday, when he came off against Bradford City as a precaution after feeling his hamstring, the former Brighton striker is determined to hit the ground running come the start of the Premier League campaign on August 13.

Barnes missed almost all of last season with a cruciate knee ligament injury. He only returned in April and admits he expected to have to prove himself before earning a new deal.

Instead the Clarets showed how valuable a member of Sean Dyche’s squad he has become and made sure he is now tied down until the summer of 2019.

“I was buzzing to get it all done,” said Barnes.

“It happened quite quick, I went on my holidays and then the week before we came back my agent had a phone call and we got it done straight away.

“I feel settled here, my family are settled.

“I think it was a nice bonus from the club to offer me a new contract after my injury.”

Barnes suffered his knee injury on the final day of the last Premier League campaign, and he added: “I had a year left, they could have easily just waited because I didn’t play too many games last year, but they’ve shown faith in me and offered me a contract.

“It’s a massive boost. They could have let me sit with that last year, that’s what I was expecting to do, I didn’t have a leg to stand on because I didn’t really play last year.

“They know what I’ve done in the past and it’s stood me in good stead.”

Barnes missed all of last pre-season and had to fight his way back to fitness earlier this year while his teammates focused on securing promotion.

He knows how important making the most of this pre-season is, and is determined to force his way into Dyche’s plans for the visit of Swansea on the first day of the season.

“My knee feels really good, I’ve had no problems, I trained hard through the summer and I’ve taken it on from there,” he added.

“As long as I can get through this pre-season I’m sure it will be fine.

“I want to hit the ground running, everyone wants the shirt for the first game of the season and I’m raring to do that.”

Despite suffering relegation two years ago Barnes was a Premier League hit for the Clarets, scoring five goals and establishing himself as a key member of the squad.

And although he spent most of last term watching he was impressed with his teammates ability to put that behind them and book an immediate top flight return.

“I really enjoyed it,” he said of the 2014/15 season. “Luckily enough I got a chance to express myself a bit and scored five goals.

“Unfortunately for us we just didn’t do enough to stay in the league, but for a first experience it was a great achievement and to bounce back the lads did tremendously.

“Not many teams bounce straight back up, but the lads were fantastic. I managed to jump on the bandwagon at the end and enjoy the celebrations properly.”