KEVIN Long is well placed to reflect on the changes on and off the pitch at Burnley as the Clarets' longest-serving player.

The Irishman will mark eight years at Turf Moor in January and he's added two more Premier League starts to his resume this week in the absence of Ben Mee.

Long may be back on the bench at the Amex Stadium today with Mee now fit to return, but the 27-year-old is amazed at the transformation at Burnley from the club he joined.

"There’s been massive changes since I came in," he said. "I remember getting changed at the ground and driving to the training ground and there was one pitch, now there’s about 10 pitches and a whole new building.

"You get those changes and you’re getting new players into the squad and better players. We’re in the Premier League and everything is improving."

Long joined a club that was in the Premier League in January 2010 but relegation would follow a few months later.

He's had to bide his time to establish himself in the first-team picture but the former Cork City man has now done just that, at the same time that the club have established themselves in the Premier League.

"That's a credit to the club," he said. "When we got relegated from the Premier League the last time the club spent a lot of money on the training facilities and if you’re a club that wants to be in the Premier League that’s what you’ve got to do.

"Fundamentally players are going to want to come here for the training facilities and to be in the Premier League."